Independence II culture

Independence II was a Paleo-Eskimo culture that lived in northern and northeastern Greenland from around 700 to 80 BC. They lived near the Independence Fjord, in areas close to where another ancient group, the Independence I culture, had lived centuries before.

People of the Independence II culture were found in places like central Peary Land. We think there were only about four to six families there. Because of this small number, they likely had contact with people living on Ellesmere Island in Canada or in nearby parts of Greenland.

Some experts believe that the Independence II culture shared many tools and ways of living with the Dorset culture in southern Greenland, sometimes calling them both Greenlandic Dorset. Unlike Independence II, the Dorset culture continued to exist until at least the year 800 AD. The Danish explorer Eigil Knuth was the first to identify the Independence I and II cultures.