Grønnow's book on the prehistoric Saqqaq people of western Greenland is a culmination of decades of meticulous research into an Arctic culture that has not seen enough of the academic spotlight. This book, however, shines a bright light on these innovative and unique people in a manner that will ideally be emulated elsewhere. In many ways, what Grønnow has created is a portable museum exhibit, with beautiful detailed illustrations, color photographs, excellent maps, and summary tables and figures that allow readers to learn about the Saqqaq people at various scales of knowledge and understanding, from the casually interested to the serious researcher. For casual readers, it would be worthwhile to flip through the book to examine the figures and photographs, much the same way one would approach a quick trip through a museum. There is much to marvel at, particularly due to the outstanding organic preservation at the sites of Qeqertasussuk and Qajaa, which are the focus of the book. For more serious scholars, the compendium of research that Grønnow and his collaborators have conducted over the years in Greenland and the North American Arctic is presented in meticulous detail and would be an important addition to the bookshelf of anyone interested in the history and lives of indigenous peoples of the circumpolar north. This multiscalar, exhibit-like approach is largely accomplished through the thought-provoking way that Grønnow purposefully structured the book in a format that resembles a “classical ethnography,” which is an apt description. This method of organizing and presenting the research helps to create a more human picture of the Saqqaq people as a once living, breathing society, something I believe to be lacking in many, if not most, archaeological publications.

The ethnographic approach led Grønnow to interpret artifact assemblages, primarily from the sites of Qeqertasussuk and Qajaa in Disko Bay, in West Greenland, in a holistic manner, examining them as tool kits within a living system rather than trait lists organized by function and raw material or as collections of typological studies disconnected from each other, as is often done. This helps the reader to see Saqqaq technology as part of a broader “life world,” as Grønnow puts it (p. 19), rather than as products from disparate activities. To be fair, Grønnow is able to accomplish this level of interpretation because of an exceptional preservation environment at the sites. Most archaeologists would kill to have such an assemblage of preserved organic artifacts. In many cases, the wood and other organic materials are intact enough to see the entire chaîne opératoire, allowing a unique window into the production and use of organic artifacts by Arctic Small Tool tradition peoples that is remarkable. The artifact analogues alone that this work provides make the book worthy of a read. For those of us who investigate the prehistoric circumpolar regions, it helps to provide a more comprehensive picture of the complexity of Arctic Small Tool tradition tool kits and their users’ way of life.

If a flaw is to be found in this book, it is only that there are a few instances where I would have liked more elucidation. For instance, Grønnow provides a detailed account of how important driftwood was to the Saqqaq people in the production of everything from the superstructures of their houses to the handles for their complex tool kits and even includes discussion on production methods, trade, and origins of the wood; however, it would have been interesting to hear his thoughts on how that material might have been perceived by the Saqqaq people other than just as a raw material. Similar critiques might be made for other raw materials, such as stone, baleen, or ivory. Nonetheless, this minor complaint seems very individualistic and does not detract from the overall impressiveness of this work.

Overall, the information presented in this book is extraordinary, and its presentation is exceptional. It presents a picture of a multifaceted, sophisticated culture, both in its people's economic and practical pursuits and in their social and spiritual lives. For many unfamiliar with the lives of Arctic peoples, this level of technological and social innovation may be surprising, which only serves to raise the importance of this book. For those of us more familiar, the surprise comes in the almost overwhelming body of data that Grønnow is able to incorporate and at how little most of us have to work with in comparison. He is able to not only connect the Saqqaq people to other cultures across the North American and Siberian Arctic but also make them relevant to the study of prehistoric indigenous peoples more broadly.