Skraeling Island

Skraeling Island Show map of Nunavut Skraeling Island Show map of Canada
Geography
Location	Northern Canada
Coordinates	78°54′43″N 075°38′00″W / 78.91194°N 75.63333°W / 78.91194; -75.63333 (Skraeling Island)[1]
Archipelago	Queen Elizabeth Islands Arctic Archipelago
Length	2,000 m (7000 ft)
Width	1,400 m (4600 ft)
Administration
Canada
Territory	Nunavut
Region	Qikiqtaaluk
Demographics
Population	Uninhabited

Skraeling Island is a Canadian island, located within the territory of Nunavut, which lies off of the east coast of Ellesmere Island at the mouth of Alexandra Fiord. Buchanan Bay lies to its north-east.

History

The Norse referred to the indigenous peoples they encountered in Greenland and the New World as skræling. According to the ancient sagas, the Norse considered the natives hostile because they were repeatedly attacked by them.^[2]

Archaeology

Skraeling Island is an extensive archeological site which has yielded a wealth of artifacts^[3] from Small-Tool cultures dating from 4500 BC (Dorset and Thule). Norse items found at Inuit sites^[3] — 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).