Butchering Site Evolution Induced by Past and Recent Snowmelt Runoff: The Saunitarlik Site (JiEv‐15), Aivirtuuq Peninsula, Nunavik, Canada

A geoarchaeological study of a unique Inuit site in Nunavik was undertaken in order to document the impact of humans on the Arctic environment. The Saunitarlik archaeological site is located on the Aivirtuuq peninsula near Kangiqsujuaq (Nunavik), and it was used as a butchering site by Inuit in the 19th century. It consists of an open‐air midden containing thousands of bones lying in the bed of an intermittent stream. This study documents the transformation of soil at the Saunitarlik site as a result of butchering activities by comparing them with extra‐site soils. Chronostratigraphic and sedimentological analyses of extra‐site sections show a succession of facies associated with: (1) till reworked by the sea, (2) regressive shoreline deposits, (3) surface runoff deposits, and (4) eolian deposits. Surface runoff deposits that dominate the peninsula were linked to regional climatic variations. Micromorphology analyses of intra‐ and extra‐site sediments revealed that periglacial and surface runoff were the main factors influencing site evolution. The intra‐site sections are characterized by the presence of dark, greasy, and sandy organic matter layers. Chemical analysis of these layers using gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry (GC−MS) indicated the presence of well‐preserved animal fatty acids in the sediments.