Amadjuak

Amadjuak lies on the rolling tundra of southern Baffin Island, beside a bay of the same name. The site combines inland lakes, coastal water and caribou country, giving Inuit families access to seals, fish, caribou and migratory birds. Sea ice extends travel in winter but cuts off open-water routes for much of the year.

Thule ancestors spread across Baffin Island by about 1200, and their Inuit descendants followed seasonal camps rather than permanent towns. Winter houses of sod, stone and whalebone were occupied repeatedly near good hunting grounds, while skin tents served the summer. The area around Amadjuak formed part of these wider routes across the island. These camps remained small because travel, not storage, determined their location.

The area's importance lay in seasonal subsistence and movement rather than commerce with Europe. Inuit memory and archaeology preserve the camps, while a later fur post added trade goods and new visitors without replacing older routes and skills.