Skraeling Island

Skraeling Island

Geography
Location	Northern Canada
Coordinates	78°54′43″N 075°38′00″W
Archipelago	Queen Elizabeth Islands Canadian Arctic Archipelago
Length	2,000 m (1.2 mi)
Width	1,400 m (0.87 mi)
Country
Canada
Territory	Nunavut
Demographics
Population	Uninhabited

Skraeling Island lies off the east coast of Ellesmere Island in the Canadian territory of Nunavut.

History

The Norse referred to the indigenous peoples they encountered in Greenland and the New World as skræling (`cloth-skin,' possibly derived from the hides the natives wore), and the sagas make it clear that the Norse considered the natives hostile.

Archaeology

Skraeling Island is an extensive archeological site which has yielded a wealth of artifacts from Small-Tool cultures dating from 4500 BC (Dorset and Thule). Norse items found at Inuit sites — some 80 objects from a single site including a small driftwood carving of a face with European features — suggests that there was a lively trade between the groups (as well as an exchange of Norse goods among the Inuit).