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Arctic People
T
he Dorset and Thule Cultures started in Alaska. They were the first people to
learn how to survive the Arctic winter. They are the ancestors of the modern Inuit.
The Thule Culture
These early groups hunted musk-ox, which roamed the
slopes and plains of the tundra. The people did not depend
on the sea for their livelihood. They were gradually replaced
by another culture that also developed around the
Bering Strait, particularly at St. Lawrence Island. This
group hunted whales and seals as well as land animals.
They had large boats covered in walrus or seal skin and
could hunt in the sea ice as well as from the shore. They also
made sleds for traveling over snow-covered ground. In
winter they lived in low, half-buried homes with stone floors
and massive whale bones to hold up the roof.
They were called the Thule
Culture and were a highly successful
people. Like the Dorset Culture, they
spread across North America to
Greenland. Because they were skilled
hunters at sea as well as on land they
were able to make full use of the
limited Arctic resources.
B
one was used to make this comb and other finery
by the Thule Culture around 1100
CE
.
The Names of Arctic People
Today the people of the Arctic are
divided into many groups, or tribes.
Each group has its own customs,
identity, and name. They are known by
the collective name Inuit. This means
“The People” and is the name most
groups prefer to be called. A single
person is an Inuk. The Inuit are
sometimes called Eskimos. This word
comes from native North Americans
and means “eaters of raw flesh.”
D
ifferent Inuit have
different types of
clothing. The Inuk below
is wearing clothing
typical of the North
American Inuit.