Thule Migration Across the Arctic

Record summary

The Thule expansion carried whale-hunting technologies, umiak and kayak traditions, house forms, and distinctive material culture eastward from Alaska across the Arctic. It is a central case for comparing maritime mobility, environmental opportunity, and interaction with earlier Dorset populations. Archaeology, radiocarbon dating, ancient DNA, and historical linguistics indicate a complex process rather than one instantaneous migration. Exact routes, rates of movement, and the balance between replacement, assimilation, and coexistence remain debated. The label “Thule” is an archaeological culture term, not a single unified political entity.