thumb|The different cultures in Greenland, Labrador, Newfoundland and the Canadian arctic islands between 900 CE and 1500 AD
The Thule ( , ) or proto-Inuit were the precursors of all modern Inuit and Yupik peoples. They developed in coastal Alaska by 1000 CE and expanded eastward across northern Canada, reaching Greenland by the 13th century. In the process, they replaced people of the earlier Dorset culture who had previously inhabited the region. The appellation "Thule" originates from the location of Thule, now known as Pituffik (a settlement relocated and renamed Qaanaaq in 1953) in northwest Greenland, facing Canada, where the archaeological remains of the people were first found at Comer's Midden.
Evidence supports the idea that the Thule (and, to a lesser degree, the Dorset) were in contact with the Vikings, who had reached the shores of Canada in the 11th century as part of the Norse colonization of North America. In Viking sources, these peoples are called the Skrælingjar.
Some Thule migrated southward, in the "Second Expansion" or "Second Phase". By the 13th or 14th century, the Thule had occupied an area inhabited until then by the Dorset, and by the 15th century, the Thule had replaced the Dorset.
Intensified contacts with Europeans began in the 18th century. Compounded by the already disruptive effects of the "Little Ice Age" (1650–1850), the Thule communities broke apart, and the people became known as the Eskimo (a term now considered offensive), and later, Inuit and Yupik. Jenness identified the Bering Sea culture as a highly developed Inuit culture of northeastern Asiatic origin and pre-Thule in age.
A strong maritime adaptation is characteristic of the Thule, and the OBS stage, and then can be seen in the archaeological evidence. Both kayaks and umiaks (large skinned boats) appear in the archaeological record for the first time. The tool kits of the people of the time are dominated by polished-slate rather than flaked-stone artifacts, including lanceolate (shaped like the tip of a lance) knives, projectile heads, and the ulu transverse-bladed knife. The people also made a crude form of pottery and there was much use of bone and antlers for heads on harpoons, as well as to make darts, spears, snow goggles, blubber scrapers, needles, awls and mattocks, also walrus shoulder-blade snow shovels.
Punuk and Birnirk stages, c. 800 CE to 1400 CE
The Punuk stage is a development of Old Bering Sea stage, with distribution along the major Bering Strait islands and along to shores of the Chukchi Peninsula. The Punuk culture was initially defined by Henry Collins in 1928 from a deep midden on one of the Punuk Islands. Later excavation on St. Lawrence Island confirmed Jenness's ideas on the Bering Sea culture, and demonstrated a continual cultural sequence on the island from Old Bering Sea, to Punuk, to modern Eskimo culture.
Whaling has a greater emphasis in the Punuk stage. Hunters would use umiaks and kill whales in narrow ice leads as well as in the open sea in the fall. Open sea whaling required skilled leadership, teams of expert boatmen and hunters, and the cooperation of several boats. The whaleboat captain, the umialik, is still a prominent position in Alaskan Arctic communities today. Harpoon styles became simpler and more standardized, as did Punuk art. The Punuk developed their methods of hunting that led to the creation of armour made from bone as well as the technology of the bow and arrow. As well, bone plated wrist guards, the reinforced bow, bird bolas, heavy ivory net sinkers, and blunt tipped bird arrows appeared in the Punuk stage.
Post-Classic stage, 1400 to 1600 CE
Post-Classic Thule tradition existed from 1400 CE up until European contact in areas where whales were not as prevalent so there is an increase in evidence of other means of subsistence, such as caribou, seal and fish. These settlements show a more gradual settlement of fewer whales and using more subsistence strategies from the west. The redistribution of the Thule people reflects the population pressures of the Classic Thule, but the climate played a more important role. The onset of the "Little Ice Age" that occurred between 1400 and 1600 limited the use of boats and number of whales present in the area. This shortened the season for open-water whale hunting. By the 16th century, umiak and kayak whale hunting had ceased in the High Arctic. By 1600, the people had moved on and abandoned the High Arctic due to the severe climate changes. It was during this time that local groups such as the Copper Inuit, Netsilik, and Inglulingmuit (Inuit from the Igloolik area) emerged.
Culture and lifeways
Communities and social organization
right|thumb|Inuk pointing out Thule site, June 1995The culture of the Thule people differed significantly from that of the earlier Dorset people. Access to bowhead whales enabled some Thule communities to grow into the largest settlements of the prehistoric Arctic. In prime whaling areas, settlements typically contained between fifteen and twenty houses, while at least one known site contained sixty.
Houses were often built in clusters that may have housed extended family groups, and archaeologists have identified communal structures that appear to have been used for ceremonial activities. Not all households appear to have held the same status. Variations in the size, form, and contents of dwellings, including the presence of whaling equipment and non-local goods, may reflect differences in wealth or social standing between families.
Transportation and technology
The Thule travelled across the Arctic by dog sled, kayak, and umiak, a large skin-covered boat that played a central role in bowhead whaling. Dog sleds expanded the range over which people could travel and forage, while umiaks facilitated the hunting of bowhead whales. They also developed new uses for iron and copper.
Other hunting equipment included bows and arrows, bird bolas, net sinkers, reinforced bows, wrist guards, and, in some regions, armour made from bone.
Archaeological evidence indicates that most bowhead remains recovered from Thule sites came from actively hunted whales rather than scavenged carcasses.
Outside major whaling communities, Thule people relied heavily on fish, large marine mammals, and caribou. As with whales, they sought to make use of as much of each animal as possible.