Living in Greenland around 2000 BCE was the Saqqaq, a Paleo-Inuit culture. Because archaeologists had found few whale bones at Saqqaq sites, and did not find whale-hunting-capable technology, it was previously believed that whales were not part of the Saqqaq diet. But sedimentary DNA analysis of ancient midden deposits in western Greenland detected surprisingly large proportions of bowhead whale DNA.
These traces of DNA were perhaps left behind by flesh, blood, and blubber seeping into the soil after being caught but before being eaten. Enough traces were found to suggest that bowhead whale was a significant part of the Saqqaq diet. Completely the opposite of what was thought before!
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