Aasivissuit – Nipisat. Inuit Hunting Ground between Ice and Sea

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Aasivissuit – Nipisat: An Inuit Hunting Ground Between Ice and Sea

Aasivissuit – Nipisat, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2018, is a unique cultural landscape that offers a glimpse into the rich history and traditions of the Inuit people in the central part of West Greenland. Spanning more than 4,000 square kilometres, this expansive area, located within the Arctic Circle, encompasses seven key localities, from Nipisat in the west to Aasivissuit, nestled near the ice cap in the east.

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UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site

Located inside the Arctic Circle in the central part of West Greenland, the property contains the remains of 4,200 years of human history. It is a cultural landscape which bears witness to its creators’ hunting of land and sea animals, seasonal migrations and a rich and well-preserved tangible and intangible cultural heritage linked to climate, navigation and medicine. The features of the property include large winter houses and evidence of caribou hunting, as well as archaeological sites from Paleo-Inuit and Inuit cultures. The cultural landscape includes seven key localities, from Nipisat in the west to Aasivissuit, near the ice cap in the east. It bears testimony to the resilience of the human cultures of the region and their traditions of seasonal migration.

UNESCO Justification of the World Heritage Site

Criterion (v): Aasivisuit-Nipisat and the transect of environments it contains demonstrates the resilience of the human cultures of this region and their traditions of seasonal migration. The abundant evidence of culture-nature interactions over several millennia, intact and dynamic natural landscape, intangible cultural heritage and continuing hunting and seasonal movements by Inuit people and other attributes combine in this distinctive cultural landscape. This is demonstrated through the continuing uses of the west/east routes, the rich archaeological record of Palaeo-Inuit and Inuit cultures, and the camps and hunting elements that enabled hunting-fishing-gathering peoples to live in the Arctic region.

Encyclopedia Record: Aasivissuit – Nipisat: Inuit Hunting Ground between Ice and Sea

Aasivissuit – Nipisat: Inuit Hunting Ground between Ice and Sea is a cultural landscape and UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the central part of Western Greenland. Added to the World Heritage List in 2018, the site preserves the archeological remains of over 4000 years of occupation and contains well-preserved evidence of seasonal hunting and gathering. Remains from the Saqqaq, Dorset, and Thule cultures and sites from the later Inuit and colonial era are protected within the site.

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