he Meta Incognita
Project investigates Martin Frobisher's Arctic expeditions of
1576-78 (which included the first English attempt
to establish a colony in Canada and to mine its mineral resources)
and their effects on the culture of the Inuit he encountered. The
project is also aimed at ensuring the long-term protection of the
historic sites associated with these expeditions. Although the
voyages are well documented in contemporary official records and
personal accounts, this evidence presents only the Elizabethan
perspective and leaves unanswered intriguing questions, such as why
Frobisher and his backers believed there was gold in ore that was
actually worthless. The project seeks a fuller understanding of
this episode in the history of European exploration of the New
World through archaeological data, Inuit oral history, and further
archival studies.
This progress report, focusing particularly, but not exclusively,
on field investigations conducted in 1991 and on the analytical
work supporting them, comprises papers by Canadian and American
archaeologists, anthropologists and geologists, as well as other
scientists engaged in the project. Besides the preliminary findings
from their work, the papers present an introduction to the historical
context and to the problems and questions facing researchers.
Edited by Stephen Alsford
Mercury Series, Directorate, Paper 6 (1993)
ISBN 0-660-14010-1
17.8 x 24 cm, 228 pp.
63 photographs
$19.95 (paper)
(Price does not
include shipping & handling or GST)