DepartmentArctic Archaeology
OrganizationCanadian Museum of Civilization
Emailrobert.mcghee@civilization.ca
Phone+1-819-776-8187
Address100 Laurier Street
Hull , Quebec J8X 4H2CanadaBioDr. Robert McGhee received B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of Toronto, and a Ph.D. in Archaeology from the University of Calgary in 1968. He currently holds the position of Curator of Arctic Archaeology with the Canadian Museum of Civilization. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and of the Arctic Institute of North America, and past-president of the Canadian Archaeological Association. In 2000, he was awarded the Massey Medal of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, Canada's highest award for excellence in the geographical sciences.McGhee's research has focused on the archaeology of Arctic Canada and related regions. He has undertaken fieldwork from Labrador to the Mackenzie Delta and northwards to the High Arctic islands, as well as in Svalbard and Chukotka. In recent years he has excavated the remains of Sir Martin Frobisher's 16 th century Northwest Passage expeditions; worked at a 2,000 year old Eskimo village on the Siberian coast of Bering Strait; worked with the High Arctic Inuit community of Resolute Bay in reconstructing an 800 year old village; and crewed for a portion of the Atlantic crossing by the reproduction Viking ship Gaia.
His work has addressed problems such as the first people of the New World Arctic; the origins of Inuit culture; reactions of prehistoric populations to episodes of climatic and environmental change; the art and symbolism of prehistoric arctic peoples; and the relations between aboriginal peoples and early European visitors to Arctic Canada. The latter topic has led to studies on the nature of mediaeval Norse exploration and enterprise in the New World, and on the general character of early European contacts with New World peoples.
This research has been reported in over 100 books and articles, including both academic publications and those designed for a general audience. Among the latter are Ancient People of the Arctic (UBC Press 1994);The Arctic Voyages of Martin Frobisher (McGill-Queen's University Press, 1999); and The Last Imaginary Place: a Human History of the Arctic World (Oxford University Press, 2005).
McGhee is experienced in presenting illustrated lectures on several subjects, including:
The History and Culture of the Inuit
Inuit Art in Historical Perspective
Climate and History in Arctic North America
Early Europeans and Inuit in Arctic North America
Martin Frobisher and the English Search for the Northwest Passage
The Last Imaginary Place: Arctic Perceptions and Realitie