A taphonomic treatment of Thule zooarchaeological materials from Diana Bay, Nunavik (Arctic Quebec) /

This thesis presents a taphonomic analysis of a zooarchaeological assemblage excavated from JfEl-10, a Thule site located near modern Quaqtaq in Nunavik. Little is known of the Thule occupation of Nunavik, and even less concerning Thule subsistence activities here. As a result, this is one of the first detailed zooarchaeological analyses performed on Thule archaeofaunas from the Ungava region. Because of the poor preservation that characterized the assemblage, a taphonomic study was undertaken in order to determine the "representativeness" of the faunal remains. Food utility indices are compared to bone density indices, in order to establish the effects of density-mediated attrition upon the faunal remains.A moderate correlation was found between bone density and the identified animal bones. This indicated that, while density-mediated attrition had altered the zooarchaeological assemblage, bone density alone did not provide a sufficient explanation for the observed element distributions. Other taphonomic agents, such as those related to the degree of butchering and the potential effects of cryoturbation upon remains, also need to be taken into consideration