The Integrative and Cultural Role of Hunting and Subsistence in Greenland

Jens Dahl dicusses two modes of production that coexist in Greenland and they are inextricably bound together; commercial fishing on the one hand, subsistence hunting and fishing on the other. On the basis of examples drawn from the settlement of Saqqaq, this paper highlights the intergrative and cultural functions of sealing, beluga hunting and traditional fishing. Analysis of these examples shows that in the Greenlandic context the differentiation between commercial and non-commercial is meaningless. Published with permission from Jens Dahl and Études/Inuit/Studies The Integrative and Cultural Role of Hunting and Subsistence in Greenland