Ancient migration routes: on the road to the Canadian and Greenlandic Arctic

Abstract

The question of human movements has always been complex and increasingly difficult to understand as we delve further into the past. The situation might seem somewhat easier to grasp in the Arctic, particularly in Canada and Greenland, due to the relatively limited cultural diversity with only four main cultural groups across the entire chronology. However, chronological challenges and the vast expanse of the territory make it difficult to reconstruct migratory trajectories and the motivations behind these large-scale human movements over considerable distances in relatively short timeframes. This article presents the dates, populations involved, and driving forces proposed to explain the two major migratory movements that took place around 2500 cal. BCE and the 13th century CE, respectively.