It verifies that there was an extinction rather than assimilation, although this was already the conclusion of archaeologists based on other data. The physical

It verifies that there was an extinction rather than assimilation, although this was already the conclusion of archaeologists based on other data. The physical remains of the Dorset culture are totally distinct form those of the Thule. Thule oral traditions tell of encounters with the Dorset during their Eastwards expansion. The Dorset were in contact with viking populations in Greenland, whose accounts can be interpreted as showing the rapid replacement of the Dorset by the Thule. Finally, some small, isolated Dorset populations may have survived until later European contact, although they soon died out as well. The Thule expansion into North America is thought to have coincided with a change in climate, so it's possible the shift in climate caused the collapse of the Dorset. It's also possible that contact with either the Thule or vikings passed on diseases that could have decimated the Dorset. However, the remarkably close timing of the replacement does strongly support the hypothesis that the Thule themselves were the cause of the Dorset collapse.