Ancestors of the Inuit

They came from the west

The first people to settle in North America are believed to be the Paleo-Indians, Paleolithic hunter-gatherers arriving from North Asia. At the time, much of the Earth’s ocean water was stored in glacier ice. What is known today as the Bering Strait was, back then, a land bridge connecting northeastern Siberia and western Alaska. This allowed mammals to roam freely between the two, and for Paleo-Indians to cross over to Alaska.

Low snowfall in Alaska allowed early populations to survive here, but they could not migrate farther south due to the Laurentide ice sheet, which at the time covered most of northern North America. It wasn’t until thousands of years later, when the ice sheet started to melt away and passages in the ice appeared, that these ‘Ancient Beringians’ were able to move east and south. These people would become the ancestors of the indigenous peoples of North and South America. The Inuit would come later, mainly populating the North American Arctic and Greenland.

The Paleo-Inuit and Pre-Dorset cultures

The lineage of the Ancient Beringians however appears to have gone extinct as it cannot be found in modern indigenous lineages. The earliest culture to be found in the North American Arctic is thus the Paleo-Inuit people. They inhabited the entire Arctic, from Chukotka in present-day Russia to the far north of North America, and all the way to Greenland.

It is generally agreed that the Paleo-Inuits migrated east from northeast Siberia some 5,500 years ago, eventually inhabiting areas from Alaska all the way to Greenland. They were skilled hunters and a few Paleo-Inuit groups brought dogs with them as hunting partners.

While opinions differ, the Pre-Dorset existed from around 4,200 to 2,500 years ago. For the most part, they lived in what is now the Canadian eastern Arctic. They lived in elliptical-shaped skin tents in the summer months, and snow houses or tents banked with snow in the winter. To supplement the food they derived from fishing, they also hunted marine and land mammals with lances and with bows and arrows.

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Photo: Mrs. Brenda M. Davis , Hurtigruten, Andrea Klaussner, Andrea Klaussner and Andrea Klaussner /Hurtigruten

The Dorset and Thule culture

Named after Cape Dorset in Nunavut, where the first evidence of its existence was found, the Dorset culture lasted from approximately 2,500 to between 500 and 1,000 years ago. They occupied a large area that included Baffin Island, much of the eastern Arctic of modern-day Canada, and even northwest Greenland. Based on sophisticated carvings found in these areas, they are thought to have been an artistic group of people. They went without bows and arrows and instead carved triangular points from local stone to make harpoons for hunting seals, walrus, and narwals.

Lasting from around 2,200 to 400 years ago, the Thule culture followed the Dorset. Biological, cultural, and linguistic evidence clearly shows that they are the direct ancestors of all modern Inuit. As their hunting skills progressed, they began using dog sleds, kayaks and larger skin-covered boats. They also advanced their harpoon technology to hunt giants such as the bowhead whale.

Thule dwellings varied from skin tents held up with whale bones to partially underground houses constructed from whale bone and skins. Archeological remains of ancient Thule structures have been found across the Arctic. They include tent circles, food cache sites, kayak stands, hunting blinds, and fox traps.

Present-day Inuit

The Inuit people mainly live in small communities stretched across the North American Arctic and Greenland. They now have access to modern amenities such as television and the Internet, but their way of life is still tied to the land and sea, and to nomadic hunter-gatherer traditions passed down through their history, stretching back more than 5,000 years.

Modern Inuit are still intimately in tune with the Arctic climate. Hunting, fishing, and trapping remain at the core of Inuit culture. Food and supplies in the Arctic are generally very expensive and perishable, and often in short supply. Food security is a big issue for the Inuit people. That’s one reason why hunting is so important, even in modern times, and why they don’t waste a single part of the hunted animal.

Sharing is an integral part of Inuit culture. One whale is often shared with the entire community, providing members with nutritious food for up to two years. Animal skins are often used for bedding and winter clothes, sinews for binding a sled together, and horns or antlers to make sculptures. Inuit art is world-renowned for its beauty and elegance, and provides an important source of income for some communities.

The Inuit are a proud people. Along with their great ancestors, they have achieved one of the most remarkable human accomplishments of all time—successfully surviving in the Arctic.