Paleo-Eskimo

US/ˌpeɪlioʊˈɛskɪmoʊ/

noun

The inhabitants and/or native cultures of the North American Arctic region before the rise of the modern Eskimo cultures in the region; the Saqqaq, Independence I and II, and/or Dorset cultures and peoples.

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Meanings

nounPaleo-Eskimo pl (plural only)

alternative Palaeo-Eskimo · alternative Palaeoeskimo · alternative Paleoeskimo

  1. pluralplural onlyThe inhabitants and/or native cultures of the North American Arctic region before the rise of the modern Eskimo cultures in the region; the Saqqaq, Independence I and II, and/or Dorset cultures and peoples.

Origin

From paleo- (“old, primeval”) + Eskimo. The scholar David J. Meltzer writes that the people are "badly named: there is nothing to indicate they are ancestral Eskimo or spoke an Eskimo language; today's Eskimo refer to them as the Tuniit".

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Cite this entry
APA

Paleo-Eskimo. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Paleo-Eskimo

MLA

“Paleo-Eskimo.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Paleo-Eskimo. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Paleo-Eskimo,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Paleo-Eskimo.

Source: Paleo-Eskimo on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.