Therkel Mathiassen (5 September 1892, in , Denmark – 14 March 1967) was an archaeologist, anthropologist, cartographer, and ethnographer notable for his scientific study of the Arctic. Mathiassen and Peter Freuchen took part in the Fifth Danish Thule Expedition led by Knud Rasmussen. During his travels, Mathiassen gave out thimbles to local Inuit, thus earning the Inuktitut nickname, Tikkilik ("the one with the thimbles"). In 1922, Mathiassen began an archaeological investigation at a site he called "Naujan" (Naujaat); the first archaeological excavation in Canada's Arctic. This was also the second ever Thule culture archaeological excavation, following the 1916 Comer's Midden in North Greenland. Mathiassen was able to manually excavate through peat, sod, and gravel, portions of 12 sod hou