Erik Holtved
Encyclopedia
Dr. Erik Holtved (1899, Fredericia
, Denmark
- 1981, Copenhagen
, Denmark) was a Danish artist, archaeologist, linguist, and ethnologist. He was the first university-trained ethnologist to study the Inughuit
, the northernmost Greenlandic Inuit
.
An artist early on, in 1931, he was selected by Knud Rasmussen to head the Sixth Thule Expedition to Greenland
which changed the course of his life. His field trips to Greenland continued in 1932, 1933, 1934, 1935–1937, and 1946-1947. He received his Masters Degree (1941) and doctorate (1944) at the University of Copenhagen
.
As an archaeologist, he researched Eskimo archaeology in the Julianehaab
district, Disko Bay
, and Inglefield Land. In 1931, he did work in the Lindenows Fjord area of southern Greenland, excavating 25 houses and unearthing 2,000 artifacts. In the 1930s, he was the first to identify the Ruin Island Phase of the Thule culture in northwest Greenland
. He excavated the Comer's Midden
site from 1935 to 1937, and again from 1946 to 1947. He surveyed the Greenland coast from Humboldt Glacier
to Thule
.
As a linguist, Holtved participated in the study of Eskimo–Aleut phonetic notation with William Thalbitzer
and Knut Bergsland
. Regarding Eskimo folklore
, he published several scholarly works, including, The Eskimo Myth about the Sea-woman, The Eskimo legend of Navaranâq, Myths and tales translated, and The Polar Eskimos: Language and Folklore which included song texts.
In Eskimokunst : Eskimo art he surveyed Eskimo art, including items such as dolls, Tupilaq
s, containers, garments, and maps.
Upon Thalbitzer's retirement, Holtved became Professor of Eskimology at the University of Copenhagen.
Fredericia
Fredericia is a town located in Fredericia municipality in the eastern part of the Jutland peninsula in Denmark, in a sub-region known locally as Trekanten, or The Triangle...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
- 1981, Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Denmark) was a Danish artist, archaeologist, linguist, and ethnologist. He was the first university-trained ethnologist to study the Inughuit
Inughuit
The Inughuit or Polar Eskimos are the northernmost group of Inuit, and the world's northernmost people. They were first contacted by European peoples by the expedition led by Sir John Ross in 1818; Ross dubbed them "Arctic Highlanders"...
, the northernmost Greenlandic Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
.
Career
Holtved was born in Fredericia, Denmark in 1899.An artist early on, in 1931, he was selected by Knud Rasmussen to head the Sixth Thule Expedition to Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
which changed the course of his life. His field trips to Greenland continued in 1932, 1933, 1934, 1935–1937, and 1946-1947. He received his Masters Degree (1941) and doctorate (1944) at the University of Copenhagen
University of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen is the oldest and largest university and research institution in Denmark. Founded in 1479, it has more than 37,000 students, the majority of whom are female , and more than 7,000 employees. The university has several campuses located in and around Copenhagen, with the...
.
As an archaeologist, he researched Eskimo archaeology in the Julianehaab
Qaqortoq
Qaqortoq is a town in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland. With a population of 3,230 as of 2011, it is the most populous town in southern Greenland, and the fourth-largest town in the country. The name is western Greenlandic and means "[the] white [one]".- History :The area around...
district, Disko Bay
Disko Bay
Disko Bay is a bay on the western coast of Greenland. The bay constitutes a wide southeastern inlet of Baffin Bay.- Geography :To the south the coastline is complicated with multiple waterways of skerries and small islands in the Aasiaat archipelago...
, and Inglefield Land. In 1931, he did work in the Lindenows Fjord area of southern Greenland, excavating 25 houses and unearthing 2,000 artifacts. In the 1930s, he was the first to identify the Ruin Island Phase of the Thule culture in northwest Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
. He excavated the Comer's Midden
Comer's Midden
Comer's Midden is a 1916 archaeological excavation site near the"Arctic Station of Thule" , north of Mt. Dundas , in North Star Bay, northern Greenland. It is the find after which the Thule culture is named...
site from 1935 to 1937, and again from 1946 to 1947. He surveyed the Greenland coast from Humboldt Glacier
Humboldt Glacier
Humboldt Glacier is the widest tidewater glacier in the Northern Hemisphere. It borders the Kane Basin in North West Greenland. Its front is wide. It has been retreating in the period of observation spanning 1975-2010. The glacier is named after German naturalist Alexander von Humboldt.-Footnotes:...
to Thule
Qaanaaq
Qaanaaq is the main town in the northern part of the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland. It is one of the northernmost towns in the world. The inhabitants of Qaanaaq speak the West Greenlandic language and many also speak Inuktun. The town has a population of 626 as of 2010...
.
As a linguist, Holtved participated in the study of Eskimo–Aleut phonetic notation with William Thalbitzer
William Thalbitzer
William C. Thalbitzer was a Danish philologist and professor of eskimo studies at the University of Copenhagen. He studied Danish, English and Latin at the university, but after graduating in 1899 he decided to focus on "exotic" languages. In 1900 he spent a year in Ilulissat in western Greenland...
and Knut Bergsland
Knut Bergsland
Knut Bergsland was a Norwegian linguist. Working as a professor at the University of Oslo from 1947 to 1981, he did groundbreaking research in Uralic and Eskimo–Aleut languages.-Career:...
. Regarding Eskimo folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
, he published several scholarly works, including, The Eskimo Myth about the Sea-woman, The Eskimo legend of Navaranâq, Myths and tales translated, and The Polar Eskimos: Language and Folklore which included song texts.
In Eskimokunst : Eskimo art he surveyed Eskimo art, including items such as dolls, Tupilaq
Tupilaq
In Greenlandic Inuit traditions, a tupilaq was an avenging monster fabricated by a practitioner of witchcraft or shamanism by using various objects such as animal parts and even parts taken from the corpses of children. The creature was given life by ritualistic chants...
s, containers, garments, and maps.
Upon Thalbitzer's retirement, Holtved became Professor of Eskimology at the University of Copenhagen.
Later years
He lived for a time at 14 Hauserplads, Copenhagen, Denmark. After retiring from the university, Holtved painted again. He died in Copenhagen on 24 May 1981.Partial works
- (1914). Archaeological investigations in the Thule district
- (1900s). Mackenzie eskimo ordliste efter Petito
- (1936). The eskimo archaeology of Julianehaab District
- (1943). The Eskimo legend of Navaranâq
- (1947). Eskimokunst: Eskimo art
- (1951). The Polar Eskimos, language and folklore 2, Myths and tales translated
- (1952). "Remarks on the Polar Eskimo dialect", International Journal of American Linguistics
- (1962). Eskimo shamanism
- (1962). Otto Fabricius' Ethnographical works
- (1963). Tornarssuk, an Eskimo Deity
- (1967). "Contributions to Polar Eskimo ethnography". Meddelelser om GrønlandMeddelelser om GrønlandMeddelelser om Grønland was a Danish scientific periodical issued by the Commission for Scientific Investigations in Greenland. Founded by Frederik Johnstrup, it was published from 1879 to 1979...