200 BC: Arctic hunters make ingenious boats and gear

Native peoples master hunting sea mammals in difficult Arctic waters by developing sophisticated boats and tools. To make wood-framed boats seaworthy, they wrap both kayaks and larger umiaks in walrus skins. Hunters mount ice picks on harpoons and make inflatable harpoon lines to help keep seals and sea lions afloat as they haul their kill back to shore.

Native hunters and traders move easily across the 30-mile-wide Bering Sea between Alaska and Siberia, paddling hide-wrapped, wood-framed boats. The smaller kayaks are for hunting sea lions, seals, and halibut; the larger umiaks are mainly used in hunting whales. Artists decorate their ivory and whalebone harpoons and tools with curvilinear dots, circles, and short lines.

Theme

Land and Water

Region

Arctic, Northwest Coast, Subarctic