K. Collier
202060356
June 9, 2021
ARCH/HIST-1005-082
A. Identify the Rankin reading by its APA style reference list entry
Rankin, L. (2008). Native Peoples from the Ice Age to the extinction of the Beothuk (c.
9000 years ago to AD 1829). In The Newfoundland Historical Society (Ed.), A short
history of Newfoundland and Labrador (pp. 1-22). Portugal Cove, NL: Boulder
Publications.
B. Identify five keywords related to the Rankin reading
1. Colonization
2. Settlement
3. Adapt
4. Inhabited
5. Migration
C. Compose an informative summary of the Rankin reading. The summary
must not exceed 350 words.
In the chapter “Native Peoples from the Ice Age to the Extinction of the Beothuk (c.
9000 Years ago to AD 1829)” from the book A Short History of Newfoundland and
Labrador, the author Dr. Lisa Rankin describes the lives of the first settlers in the
province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The description mentions eight distinct cultural
groups that arrived in Newfoundland and Labrador between 9000 and 3500 years ago.
The earliest inhabitants crossed the Bering land bridge, which linked Siberia and
Alaska. Their voyages led them to the Americas, where they continued to explore and
finally settled. One of the first cultural groups, the Labrador Archaic People, had to
K. Collier
202060356
June 9, 2021
ARCH/HIST-1005-082
adjust to their surroundings by modifying what and how they ate. Instead of hunting,
they began to forage for plants and berries. The Maritime Archaic people became the
first to settle in Newfoundland between 6500 and 3200 years ago, and they frequently
travelled via the Strait of Belle Isle. Following them was the Pre-Dorset Paleo-Eskimo
group, who were the first to dwell in the northern Arctic between 4100 and 3500 years
ago. The Intermediate Indians arrived shortly following, between 3200 and 2000 years
ago. Archaeologists are unsure if this group is entirely new or if it evolved from adaptive
modifications that happened in the Maritime Archaic group. Groswater PaleoEskimo
and Dorset were two tribes who lived in the province between 2800 and 1100 years
ago. The last two populations were seen in Labrador, the Recent Indians about 2000 to
400 years ago and the Thule population about 1450 to 400 years ago.
Dr. Lisa Rankin's objective was to offer us a better knowledge of Newfoundland and
Labrador's history and how life was originally moulded by eight different people with
various cultures that lived in our region over 9,000 years ago.