<< Sites under Threat >> Vandals destroy ancient Arctic petroglyphs
Submitted by coldrum on Tuesday, 29 August 2006 Page Views: 7104
Rock ArtCountry: Canada Type: Rock ArtInternal Links:
Canada's only major Arctic petroglyph site - a 1,500-year-old gallery of mysterious faces carved into a soapstone ridge on a tiny island off of Quebec's northern coast - has allegedly been ransacked by vandals.
For years, heritage advocates have sought special protection for the ancient etchings at Qajartalik Island, located about one hour by boat from the 500-resident village of Kangiqsujuaq. Experts believe they were created by the extinct Dorset culture, an artistically advanced civilization that occupied much of the eastern Arctic before they were killed or driven away by the Thule ancestors of modern Inuit.
More than 170 mask-like images, animal shapes and other symbols have been recorded on the island since the 1960s. Studies suggest Qajartalik was a sacred place, used for Dorset spiritual ceremonies and coming-of-age rituals.
But the site has been dubbed "the Island of the Stone Devils" because some of the faces - possibly depicting a Dorset shaman in religious costume - appear to be adorned with horns.
Long-running negotiations between Nunavut, Quebec and the federal government over the ownership of the Hudson Strait islands has delayed for a decade plans to protect the cultural treasure, which Arctic scholars have touted as a natural candidate to become a UNESCO World Heritage site.
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