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The Greenland Mummies Edited by Jens Peder Hart Hansen, Jorgen Meldgaard, Jorgen Nordqvist.

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DESCRIPTION: Hardcover with Dust Jacket: 192 pages. Publisher: British Museum (1991). Dimensions: 10¼ x 8 x 1 inch; 1¾ pounds.In 1972, two brothers on a hunting expedition in Greenland, 450 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle, discovered the graves of six women and two children who had died more than 500 years ago. They had been buried in the traditional Inuit way, dressed in warm clothing and provided with the goods needed for their journey to the Land of the Dead. A combination of low ground temperature and dry air preserved their bodies and their clothing in excellent condition, making the Greenland mummies the oldest and most significant archaeological discovery in the Arctic.

How did they die? Why were they buried together? What had been the nature of their culture and beliefs? How had they survived in the harsh Arctic climate? To solve this icy mystery, a team of archaeologists, historians, and medical specialists used modern, innovative investigative techniques. They carried out their detective work with keen scholarly curiosity, combined with respect for these people of the past. While many puzzles have been answered, others remain unsolved.

The investigation has revealed that the younger child was buried alive at the age of only six months, while the other, two and a half years old, had been born with Down's syndrome. Analysis of the hair of the mummies revealed evidence of air pollution at levels similar to those of today. Speculating on reasons for a mass grave, a form of burial the Inuit normally used only because of some catastrophe, the researchers have reconstructed the possible events of the past.

The contents of the grave shed light on the every-day life of these people, allowing the investigators to place this evidence within the larger context of Thule culture and knowledge of Inuit contact with the Norse settlements which dotted the outer margins of Greenland during the medieval era. The Greenland Mummies brings the compelling story of this fervent collaboration to the attention of the world. Not only does it provide a fascinating and insightful look into the life and culture of the Inuit in the fifteenth century, it offers an impressive testament to one of the most successful archaeological investigations ever conducted.

CONDITION: VERY GOOD. Clean and unmarked oversized hardcover w/dustjacket. British Museum (1991) 192 pages. Book evidences only mild reading wear, however if you intently scrutinize the top surface of the closed page edges evidence very faint, almost imperceptible tan-colored age speckles (known as "foxing"), visible of course only when book is closed, not to individual pages, only to the mass of closed page edges (sometimes referred to as the "page block"). Inside the book the pages are clean, crisp, unmarked, uunmutilated, and remain tightly bound. I'd guess the book was perhaps started several times, then read through once, by a reader with a gentle hand. The book is otherwise unblemished save for very mild edge and corner shelfwear to dustjacket and covers. This is principally in the form of very mild "crinkling" to the dustjacket spine head, and very mild abrasive rubbing to the top open corner of the back side of the dustjacket. Beneath the dustjacket the covers are clean and unsoiled, evidencing only very mild edge and corner shelfwear, just normal edgewear from shelving. Given that the book has clearly been read, and the top surface of the closed page edges evidence ever-so-faint "foxing", the book might lack the "sex appeal" of a "shelf trophy". Nonetheless for those not concerned with whether the book will or will not enhance their social status or intellectual reputation, it is a lightly read copy with "lots of miles left under the hood". Satisfaction unconditionally guaranteed. In stock, ready to ship. No disappointments, no excuses. PROMPT SHIPPING! HEAVILY PADDED, DAMAGE-FREE PACKAGING! Selling rare and out-of-print ancient history books on-line since 1997. We accept returns for any reason within 14 days! #1667.1a.

PLEASE SEE IMAGES BELOW FOR SAMPLE PAGES FROM INSIDE OF BOOK.

PLEASE SEE PUBLISHER, PROFESSIONAL, AND READER REVIEWS BELOW.

PUBLISHER REVIEW:

REVIEW: Around 1475 A.D., six women and two children were buried north of the Arctic Circle in Greenland. Following Inuit tradition they had been dressed in warm clothing and provided with the goods they would need for the journey to the Land of the Dead. Nearly five hundred years later their graves were discovered. The combination of dry air and low ground temperature had mummified their bodies, preserving them almost as they were when they died.

This discovery provided a unique opportunity to gain fresh knowledge of the medieval Inuit, and attracted a team of archaeologists and scientists armed with the newest investigative techniques. How did the women and children die? Why were they buried together? What did they believe? How did they survive in the harsh Arctic climate five hundred years ago?

These and many other questions are examined in this book, providing not only an insight into the life and culture of the Inuit, but an impressive example of how the best archaeological investigations are conducted. It is therefore a major contribution to the archaeology of the people. With 50 color and 145 black-and-white photographs, as well as 50 line drawings.

PROFESSIONAL REVIEWS:

REVIEW: Chronicles the discovery of eight mummies in Greenland north of the Arctic Circle, buried in the late 1400s, a find that offers fresh insight into the life and culture of medieval Inuit tribes. Describes the work of forensic anthropologists who investigated the remains of these members of the Thule culture, ancestors of today's Eskimos.

REVIEW: An English edition of the abundantly illustrated work (black and white and color) first published in Danish (Christian Ejlers' Forlag) and in Greenlandic (The Greenland Museum, Nuuk) in 1985. Documents the investigations of an international team of scientists into what could be learned from the discovery of the mummified remains of six women and two children who died around 1475, the oldest well-preserved bodies in the whole Arctic region. The report provides substantial insight into the life and culture of the Inuit and, in addition, an impressive example of how the best archaeological investigations are conducted.

REVIEW: While poking around a fjord in Greenland, Hans and Jokum Gronvold discovered a grave site that contained mummified human corpses. It wasn't until five years later that scientists realized the importance of this find. These 500-year-old remains provided them with real evidence of Inuit life long ago. Buell examines the physical and forensic evidence to determine how the Inuits lived, what they ate and wore, and what may have caused their deaths.

She relates fascinating details about how these people hunted with harpoons, constructed igloos and sod huts, battled frostbite, and gave themselves tattoos with a needle and thread. Full-color photographs help readers visualize unfamiliar turf such as the Greenland fjords, the tundra in bloom, as well as found artifacts. As amazing as it is that scientists can now tell what people ate 500 years ago, equally remarkable are the methods developed by these ingenious people for surviving in such a cold climate with such limited resources.

READER REVIEWS:

REVIEW: In October 1972, two hunters, Hans and Jokum Gronvold, discovered the mummified remains of six women and two children in a cave near the old settlement of Qilakitsoq near Uummannaq in the far north of Greenland. They died around 1475 A.D. and their remains, down to their hair and fingernails, were preserved by the dry cold air in the sheltered cave.

The cause of death is not understood, but it is clear from the position of the infant that it was left alive with its dead mother. Inuit custom at that time dictated that a child be buried alive or suffocated by its father if a woman could not be found to nurse it. Although such a practice seems cruel now, the Inuit believed that the child and its mother would travel to the land of the dead together.

Their clothing was also preserved, including sealskins and a marvelous coat made from sewn together bird skins, complete with feathers which served as a warm lining. "The Greenland Mummies" by Jens Peder Hart Hansen describes what this discovery has revealed about the people and the technology they used to survive in the harsh climate of northern Greenland. It is a fantastic book, and I highly recommend it.

REVIEW: Fascinating view into primitive technology. I read this book several years ago and am now buying it because I just couldn't forget it. It explains the extremely sophisticated technology of the so called "primitive people" who lived in the arctic. American and British explorers were always freezing to death with their "advanced" civilization, while these people lived and worked skillfully and in tune with their environment. It is a lovely book, well illustrated and well written, too.

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND:

Ancient Inuit: The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Greenland, Canada and Alaska. The Inuit languages are part of the Eskimo–Aleut family. Inuit Sign Language is a critically endangered language isolate used in Nunavut. Inuit presently live throughout most of Northern Canada in the territory of Nunavut, Nunavik in the northern third of Quebec, Nunatsiavut and NunatuKavut in Labrador and in various parts of the Northwest Territories. The population is particularly concentrated around the Arctic Ocean, in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region. With the exception of NunatuKavut these areas are known in the Inuit languages as Inuit Nunangat.

In the United States, the Alaskan Iñupiat, live primarily on the Alaska North Slope and on Little Diomede Island. Greenlandic Inuit are descendants of Thule migrations from Canada about 1100 AD. The Inuit of Greenland are Danish citizens. Inuit are the descendants of what anthropologists call the Thule people, who emerged from western Alaska around 1000 AD. They had split from the related Aleut group about 3,000 years earlier and from northeastern Siberian migrants. The Chukchi People, still earlier, descended from the third major migration from Siberia. They spread eastwards across the Arctic. They displaced the related Dorset culture, called the Tuniit in Inuktitut, which was the last major Paleo-Eskimo culture.

Inuit legends speak of the Tuniit as "giants", people who were taller and stronger than Inuit. Less frequently, the legends refer to the Dorset as "dwarfs". Researchers believe that Inuit society had advantages by having adapted to using dogs as transport animals, and developing larger weapons and other technologies superior to those of the Dorset culture. By 1100 AD Inuit migrants had reached west Greenland, where they settled. Later in the 12th century, they also settled in East Greenland. Faced with population pressures from the Thule and other surrounding groups, such as the Algonquian and Siouan-speaking peoples to the south, the Tuniit gradually receded.

The Tuniit were thought to have become completely extinct as a people by about 1400 or 1500 AD. However in the mid-1950s researcher Henry B. Collins determined that based on the ruins found at Native Point, the Sadlermiut were likely the last remnants of the Dorset culture, or Tuniit. The Sadlermiut population survived up until winter 1902–03, when exposure to new infectious diseases brought by contact with Europeans led to their extinction as a people.

In the early 21st century mitochondrial DNA research has supported the theory of continuity between the Tuniit and the Sadlermiut peoples. It also provided evidence that a population displacement did not occur within the Aleutian Islands between the Dorset and Thule transition. In contrast to other Tuniit populations, the Aleut and Sadlermiut benefited from both geographical isolation and their ability to adopt certain Thule technologies. In Canada and Greenland, Inuit circulated almost exclusively north of the "arctic tree line", the effective southern border of Inuit society. The most southern "officially recognized" Inuit community in the world is Rigolet in Nunatsiavut.

South of Nunatsiavut the descendants of the southern Labrador Inuit in NunatuKavut continued their traditional transhumant semi-nomadic way of life until the mid-1900s. The Nunatukavummuit people usually moved among islands and bays on a seasonal basis. They did not establish stationary communities. In other areas south of the tree line non-Inuit indigenous cultures were well established. The culture and technology of Inuit society that served so well in the Arctic were not suited to sub-arctic regions, so they did not displace their southern neighbors.

Inuit had trade relations with more southern cultures. Boundary disputes were common and gave rise to aggressive actions. Warfare was not uncommon among those Inuit groups with sufficient population density. Inuit such as the Nunamiut (Uummarmiut), who inhabited the Mackenzie River delta area often engaged in warfare. The more sparsely settled Inuit in the Central Arctic, however, did so less often. Their first European contact was with the Vikings who settled in Greenland and explored the eastern Canadian coast. The sagas recorded meeting skrælingar, probably an undifferentiated label for all the indigenous peoples whom the Norse encountered, whether Tuniit, Inuit, or Beothuk.

After about 1350 AD the climate grew colder during the period known as the Little Ice Age. During this period Alaskan natives were able to continue their whaling activities. But in the high Arctic Inuit were forced to abandon their hunting and whaling sites as bowhead whales disappeared from Canada and Greenland. These Inuit had to subsist on a much poorer diet and lost access to the essential raw materials for their tools and architecture. These materials had previously been obtained from whaling activities.

The changing climate forced Inuit to work their way south, pushing them into marginal niches along the edges of the tree line. These were areas First Nations had not occupied or where they were weak enough for Inuit to live near them. Researchers have difficulty defining when Inuit stopped this territorial expansion. There is evidence that the Inuit were still moving into new territory in southern Labrador when they first began to interact with European colonists in the 17th century.

The lives of Paleo-Eskimos of the far north were largely unaffected by the arrival of visiting Norsemen except for mutual trade.[33] The Labrador Inuit have had the longest continuous contact with Europeans.[34] After the disappearance of the Norse colonies in Greenland, Inuit had no contact with Europeans for at least a century. By the mid-16th century, Basque whalers and fishermen were already working the Labrador coast and had established whaling stations on land, such as the one that has been excavated at Red Bay, Labrador.[35][36] Inuit do not appear to have interfered with their operations, but the Natives raided the stations in winter, taking tools and items made of worked iron, which they adapted to their own needs.

Martin Frobisher's 1576 search for the Northwest Passage was the first well-documented contact between Europeans and Inuit. Frobisher's expedition landed in Frobisher Bay, Baffin Island, not far from the settlement now called the City of Iqaluit. Frobisher encountered Inuit on Resolution Island where five sailors left the ship, under orders from Frobisher. They became part of Inuit mythology. The homesick sailors, tired of their adventure, attempted to leave in a small vessel and vanished. Frobisher brought an unwilling Inuk to England, possibly the first Inuk ever to visit Europe. In contrast, Inuit oral tradition recounts the natives helping Frobisher's crewmen, whom they believed had been abandoned.

The semi-nomadic eco-centered Inuit were fishers and hunters harvesting lakes, seas, ice platforms and tundra. There are some allegations that Inuit were hostile to early French and English explorers, fishers and whalers. More recent research suggests that the early relations with whaling stations along the Labrador coast and later James Bay were based on a mutual interest in trade. In the final years of the 18th century the Moravian Church began missionary activities in Labrador. The church was supported by the British who were tired of the raids on their whaling stations.

The Moravian missionaries could easily provide Inuit with the iron and basic materials they had been stealing from whaling outposts. These were materials whose real cost to Europeans was almost nothing. But their value to Inuit was enormous. From then on contacts between the Inuit and Europeans in Labrador were far more peaceful. The exchanges that accompanied the arrival and colonization by the Europeans greatly damaged Inuit way of life. Mass death was caused by the new infectious diseases carried by whalers and explorers. The Inuit had no acquired immunity against these new diseases.

The high mortality rate contributed to the enormous social disruptions caused by the distorting effect of Europeans' material wealth and introduction of different materials. Nonetheless, Inuit society in the higher latitudes largely remained in isolation during the 19th century. The Hudson's Bay Company opened trading posts such as Great Whale River in 1820. The trading post was where whale products of the commercial whale hunt were processed and furs traded. Today this is the site of the twin villages of Whapmagoostui and Kuujjuarapik.

The British Naval Expedition of 1821–23 led by Admiral William Edward Parry twice over-wintered in Foxe Basin. It provided the first informed, sympathetic and well-documented account of the economic, social and religious life of Inuit. Parry stayed in what is now Igloolik over the second winter. Parry's writings included pen and ink illustrations of Inuit everyday life. Perry’s writings as well as those of George Francis Lyon were widely read after they were both published in 1824. Captain George Comer's Inuit wife Shoofly was known for her sewing skills and elegant attire. She was influential in convincing her husband acquire more sewing accessories and beads for trade with the Inuit.

During the early 20th century a few traders and missionaries circulated among the more accessible Inuit bands. After 1904 they were accompanied by a handful of North West Mounted Police. Unlike most Aboriginal peoples in Canada Inuit did not occupy lands that were coveted by European settlers. Used to more temperate climates and conditions, most Europeans considered the homeland of Inuit to be a hostile hinterland. Southerners enjoyed lucrative careers as bureaucrats and service providers to the peoples of the North, but very few ever chose to visit there.

Once its more hospitable lands were largely settled, the government of Canada and entrepreneurs began to take a greater interest in its more peripheral territories. These especially included the fur and mineral-rich hinterlands. By the late 1920s there were no longer any Inuit who had not been contacted by traders, missionaries or government agents. In 1939 the Supreme Court of Canada found in a decision known as Re Eskimos, that Inuit should be considered Indians. They were thus under the jurisdiction of the federal government.

Native customs were worn down by the actions of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), who enforced Canadian criminal law on Inuit. People such as Kikkik often did not understand the rules of the alien society with which they had to interact. In addition, the generally Protestant missionaries of the British preached a moral code very different from the one Inuit had as part of their tradition. Many of Inuit were systematically converted to Christianity in the 19th and 20th centuries, through rituals such as the Siqqitiq.

World War II and the Cold War made Arctic Canada strategically important to the great powers for the first time. Thanks to the development of modern long-distance aircraft these areas became accessible year-round. The construction of air bases and the Distant Early Warning Line in the 1940s and 1950s brought more intensive contacts with European society. This was particularly so in the form of public education for children. The traditionalists complained that Canadian education promoted foreign values that were disdainful of the traditional structure and culture of Inuit society.

In the 1950s, the Government of Canada undertook what was called the High Arctic relocation for several reasons. These were to include protecting Canada's sovereignty in the Arctic. It was also in an attempt to alleviate hunger as the area currently occupied had been over-hunted. In general it was an attempt to solve the "Eskimo problem". The effort was one of assimilation, which would result in the end of the traditional Inuit culture. One of the more notable relocations was undertaken in 1953 when 17 families were moved from Port Harrison (now Inukjuak, Quebec) to Resolute and Grise Fiord. They were dropped off in early September when winter had already arrived.

The land they were sent to was very different from that in the Inukjuak area. It was barren, with only a couple of months when the temperature rose above freezing. There were several months of constant polar night. The families were told by the RCMP they would be able to return to their home territory within two years if conditions were not right. However two years later more Inuit families were relocated to the High Arctic. Thirty years passed before they were able to visit Inukjuak.

By 1953 Canada's prime minister Louis St. Laurent publicly admitted, "Apparently we have administered the vast territories of the north in an almost continuing absence of mind." The government began to establish about forty permanent administrative centers to provide education, health, and economic development services. Inuit from hundreds of smaller camps scattered across the north, began to congregate in these hamlets. Regular visits from doctors, and access to modern medical care raised the birth rate and decreased the death rate. This resulted in a marked increase in the population that made it more difficult for them to survive by traditional means.

In the 1950s, the Canadian government began to actively settle Inuit into permanent villages and cities. Occasionally the resettlements were even against their will, such as in Nuntak and Hebron. By the mid-1960s most Canadian Inuit lived year-round in permanent settlements. This was the result of encouragement in the first part by missionaries, and then by the prospect of paid jobs and government services. Finally forced by hunger and required by police most Canadian Inuit resettled. In 2005 the Canadian government acknowledged the abuses inherent in these forced resettlements.

The nomadic migrations that were the central feature of Arctic life had become a much smaller part of life in the North. The Inuit had previously been a self-sufficient people in an extremely harsh environment were. In the span of perhaps two generations they were transformed into a small, impoverished minority. They lacked skills or resources to sell to the larger economy., However they were increasingly dependent on it for survival. Although anthropologists starting in the 1960’s were quick to predict that Inuit culture was facing extinction, Inuit political activism was already emerging.

In the 1960s the Canadian government funded the establishment of secular, government-operated high schools and residential school systems in the Northwest Territories. These included in what is now Nunavut and Inuit areas in Quebec and Labrador. The Inuit population was not large enough to support a full high school in every community. This meant only a few schools were built. Students from across the territories were boarded there. The schools were in Aklavik, Iqaluit, Yellowknife, Inuvik and Kuujjuaq. They brought together young Inuit from across the Arctic in one place for the first time. In so doing they were exposed to the rhetoric of civil and human rights that prevailed in Canada in the 1960s.

This was a real wake-up call for the Inuit. It stimulated the emergence of a new generation of young Inuit activists in the late 1960s. These individuals came forward and pushed for respect for the Inuit and their territories. Shortly after the first graduates returned home the Inuit began to emerge as a political force in the late 1960s and early 1970s. They formed new politically active associations starting with the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada. This was also known as the Inuit Brotherhood. Today it is as Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami). The organization is an outgrowth of the Indian and Eskimo Association of the '60s.

More region specific organizations developed shortly afterwards. These included the Committee for the Original People's Entitlement (representing the Inuvialuit), the Northern Quebec Inuit Association (Makivik Corporation) and the Labrador Inuit Association (LIA) representing Northern Labrador Inuit. Since the mid-1980s the Southern Labrador Inuit of NunatuKavut began organizing politically after being geographically cut out of the LIA. However, for political expediency the organization was erroneously called the Labrador Métis Nation.

These various activist movements began to change the direction of Inuit society. The year 1975 witnessed the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement. This was a comprehensive land claims settlement for Quebec Inuit. It included a large cash settlement and substantial administrative autonomy in the new region of Nunavik. It also set the precedent for the settlements to follow. The northern Labrador Inuit submitted their land claim in 1977, although they had to wait until 2005 to have a signed land settlement establishing Nunatsiavut. The Southern Labrador Inuit of NunatuKavut are currently in the process of establishing land claims and title rights that would allow them to negotiate with the Newfoundland Government.

Canada's 1982 Constitution Act recognized the Inuit as Aboriginal peoples in Canada, but not First Nations. In the same year the Tunngavik Federation of Nunavut (TFN) was incorporated. The role of this organization was to take over from the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami negotiations for land claims on behalf of the Inuit living in the eastern Northwest Territories. This region would later become Nunavut, which became a joint association of the Inuit of Quebec, Labrador, and the Northwest Territories.

In the United States, the term "Eskimo" is still commonly used because it includes Inuit and Yupik peoples whilst distinguishing them from American Indians. However The Yupik do not speak an Inuit language nor consider themselves to be Inuit. In Canada and Greenland, "Inuit" is preferred. Inuit is the Eastern Canadian Inuit (Inuktitut) and West Greenlandic (Kalaallisut) word for "the people". Since Inuktitut and Kalaallisut are the prestige dialects in Canada and Greenland, respectively, their version has become dominant.

Inuit speak Inuinnaqtun, Inuktitut, Inuvialuktun, and Greenlandic languages. These all belong to the Inuit-Inupiaq branch of the Eskimo–Aleut language family. The Greenlandic languages are divided into: Kalaallisut (Western), Inuktun (Northern), and Tunumiit (Eastern). Inuktitut is spoken in Canada and along with Inuinnaqtun is one of the official languages of Nunavut. They are known collectively as the Inuit Language. In the Northwest Territories, Inuvialuktun, Inuinnaqtun and Inuktitut are all official languages. Kalaallisut is the official language of Greenland.

The “neighboring" languages of Inuktitut and Kalaallisut are related more closely than most other dialects. This is due to the fact that Inuktitut was the language of the Eastern Canadian Inuit. Kalaallisut is the language of the nearby Western Greenlandic Inuit. Inuit in Alaska and Northern Canada also typically speak English. In Greenland, Inuit also speak Danish and learn English in school. Canadian Inuit may also speak Québécois French. Finally, Deaf Inuit speak Inuit Sign Language, which is a language isolate and almost extinct as only around 50 people remain fluent.

The Inuit have traditionally been fishers and hunters. They still hunt whales (especially bowhead whale), seal, polar bears, muskoxen, birds, and fish. At times other less commonly hunted animals such as the Arctic fox are consumed. The typical Inuit diet is high in protein and very high in fat. In their traditional diets Inuit consumed an average of 75% of their daily energy intake from fat. While it is not possible to cultivate plants for food in the Arctic, the Inuit have traditionally gathered those that are naturally available. Grasses, tubers, roots, stems, berries, and seaweed (kuanniq or edible seaweed) were collected and preserved depending on the season and the location.

There is a vast array of different hunting technologies that the Inuit used to gather their food. In the 1920s anthropologist Vilhjalmur Stefansson lived with and studied a group of Inuit. The study focused on the fact that the Inuit's low-carbohydrate diet had no adverse effects on their health, nor indeed Stefansson's own health. Stefansson also observed that the Inuit were able to get the necessary vitamins they needed from their traditional winter diet, which did not contain any plant matter. In particular he found that adequate vitamin C could be obtained from items in their traditional diet of raw meat such as ringed seal liver and whale skin (muktuk).

While there was considerable skepticism when he reported these findings, they have been borne out in recent studies and analyses. However, the Inuit have life spans 12 to 15 years shorter than the average Canadian. This is thought to be a result of limited access to medical services. Nonetheless even with increased contemporary access to medical services, the life expectancy gap is not closing. Furthermore fish oil supplement studies have failed to support claims of preventing heart attacks or strokes.

The Inuit peoples hunted sea animals from single-passenger, covered seal-skin boats called qajaq which were extraordinarily buoyant. They could easily be righted by a seated person, even if completely overturned. Because of this property, the design was copied by Europeans and Americans. They are still produced under the Inuit name kayak. Inuit also made umiaq , or a "woman's boat". These were larger open boats made of wood frames covered with animal skins. They were used to transport people, goods, and dogs. They were 20-40 feet long (6-12 meters) long and had a flat bottom so that the boats could come close to shore.

In the winter, Inuit would also hunt sea mammals by patiently watching an aglu (breathing hole) in the ice and waiting for the air-breathing seals to use them. This technique is also used by the polar bear, who hunts by seeking holes in the ice and waiting nearby. In winter both on land and on sea ice the Inuit used dog sleds for transportation. The husky dog breed comes from the Siberian Husky. These dogs were bred from wolves for use as transport. A team of dogs in either a tandem/side-by-side or fan formation would pull the sled over the snow and ice. The sled might be made of wood, animal bones, the baleen from a whale's mouth, or even composed of frozen fish.

The Inuit used stars to navigate at sea and landmarks to navigate on land. They possessed a comprehensive native system of toponymy. Where natural landmarks were insufficient the Inuit would erect an inukshuk (marker). Greenland Inuit also created Ammassalik wooden maps. These were tactile devices that represented the coast line. Dogs played an integral role in the annual routine of the Inuit. During the summer they became pack animals. Each dog sometimes dragged up to 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of baggage. In the winter they pulled the sled. Yearlong they assisted with hunting by sniffing out seals' holes and pestering polar bears. They also protected the Inuit villages by barking at bears and strangers.

The Inuit tried to breed the most striking and handsome of dogs. In particular they favored dogs with bright eyes and a healthy coat. Common husky dog breeds used by the Inuit included the Canadian Eskimo Dog. This breed was the official animal of Nunavut. Other common dog breeds used included the Greenland Dog, the Siberian Husky and the Alaskan Malamute. The Inuit would perform rituals over the newborn pup to give it favorable qualities. The legs were pulled to make them grow strong and the nose was poked with a pin to enhance the sense of smell.

Inuit industry relied almost exclusively on animal hides, driftwood, and bones. However some tools were also made out of worked stones, particularly the readily worked soapstone. Walrus ivory was a particularly essential material. It was used to make knives. Art played a big part in Inuit society and continues to do so today. Small sculptures of animals and human figures were carved from ivory and bone. They usually depicted everyday activities such as hunting and whaling. In modern times prints and figurative works carved in relatively soft stone such as soapstone, serpentinite, or argillite have also become popular.

Inuit made clothes and footwear from animal skins. They were sewn together using needles made from animal bones and threads made from other animal products such as sinew. The anorak (parka) is made in a similar fashion by Arctic peoples from Europe through Asia and the Americas, including the Inuit. The hood of an amauti or women's parka was traditionally made extra large with a separate compartment below the hood. This allowed the mother to carry a baby against her back and protect it from the harsh wind.

Styles varied from region to region. Variables included the shape of the hood to the length of the tails. Boots were made of caribou or seal skin, and designed for men and women. During the winter some Inuit lived in a temporary shelter made from snow called an igloo. During the few months of the year when temperatures were above freezing they lived in tents made of animal skins supported by a frame of bones or wood. These houses were known as tupiq . Some such as the Siglit used driftwood to build houses while others built sod houses.

The division of labor in traditional Inuit society had a strong gender component, but it was not absolute. The men were traditionally hunters and fishermen. Women took care of the children, cleaned the home, sewed, processed food, and cooked. However there are numerous examples of women who hunted out of necessity or as a personal choice. At the same time men could be away from camp for several days at a time. While away they would be expected to sew and cook for themselves.

Marital customs among the Inuit were not strictly monogamous. Many Inuit relationships were implicitly or explicitly sexual in nature. Open marriages, polygamy, divorce, and remarriage were known. Among some Inuit groups divorce required the approval of the community in the case where there were children, and particularly the agreement of the elders. Marriages were often arranged, sometimes in infancy. Marriages were occasionally forced on the couple by the community. Marriage was common for women at puberty and for men when they became productive hunters.

Family structure was flexible. A household might consist of a man and his wife (or wives) and children. It might also include parents of either (or any) partner, as well as adopted children. It might be a larger formation of several siblings with their parents, wives and children. It might even be more than one family sharing dwellings and resources. However every household had its head. If not the man in a simple husband/wife household, then an elder or a particularly respected man.

There was also a larger notion of community. This was particularly so inasmuch as several families typically shared a place where they wintered. Goods were shared within a household. To a significant extent goods were also shared within an entire community. The Inuit were hunter–gatherers and were more often as not considered to be nomadic. One of the customs following the birth of an infant was for an Angakkuq (shaman) to place a tiny ivory carving of a whale into the baby's mouth. The hope was that this would make the child good at hunting. Loud singing and drumming were also customary after a birth.

Virtually all Inuit cultures have oral traditions of raids by other indigenous peoples, including fellow Inuit. The oral traditions also recount taking vengeance on the raiders in return. One example would be the Bloody Falls massacre. Western observers often regarded these tales as generally not entirely accurate historical accounts, but more as self-serving myths. However evidence shows that Inuit cultures had quite accurate methods of teaching historical accounts to each new generation. In northern Canada historically there were ethnic feuds between the Dene and the Inuit as witnessed by Europeans in the 18th century. In 1996 Dene and Inuit representatives participated in a healing ceremony to reconcile the centuries-old grievances.

The historic accounts of violence against outsiders do make it clear that there was a history of hostile contact within the Inuit cultures and with other cultures. It also makes it clear that Inuit nations existed through history, as well as confederations of such nations. The known confederations were usually formed to defend against a more prosperous, and thus stronger nation. Alternately people who lived in less productive geographical areas tended to be less warlike. They had to spend more of their time producing food so as to survive.

Justice within Inuit culture was moderated by the form of governance that gave significant power to the elders. As in most cultures around the world, justice could be harsh. It often included capital punishment for serious crimes against the community or the individual. During raids against other peoples the Inuit, like their non-Inuit neighbors, tended to be merciless. A pervasive European myth about Inuit is that they killed elderly (senicide) and "unproductive people". However this was not generally true. In a culture with an oral history, elders are the keepers of communal knowledge. They’re effectively the community library. Because they are of extreme value as the repository of knowledge, there are cultural taboos against sacrificing elders. However a number of studies have found that, “…the death of elders by suicide was a commonplace among the Iglulik Inuit…"

When food is not sufficient, the elderly are the least likely to survive. In the extreme case of famine the Inuit fully understood that if there was to be any hope of obtaining more food, a hunter was necessarily the one to feed on whatever food was left. However, a common response to desperate conditions and the threat of starvation was infanticide. A mother abandoned an infant in hopes that someone less desperate might find and adopt the child before the cold or animals killed it. The belief that the Inuit regularly resorted to infanticide may be due in part to studies done among the Netsilik.

Other recent research has noted that "while there is little disagreement that there were examples of infanticide in Inuit communities, it is presently not known the depth and breadth of these incidents. The research is neither complete nor conclusive to allow for a determination of whether infanticide was a rare or a widely practiced event." There is no agreement about the actual estimates of the frequency of newborn female infanticide in the Inuit population. Diverse studies have cited conclusions ranging from 15–50% to 80%.

Anthropologists once believed that Inuit cultures routinely killed children born with physical defects because of the demands of the extreme climate. These views were changed by late 20th century discoveries of burials at an archaeological site. Between 1982 and 1994 a storm with high winds caused ocean waves to erode part of the bluffs near Barrow, Alaska. A body was discovered to have been washed out of the mud. Unfortunately the storm claimed the body, which was not recovered. But examination of the eroded bank indicated that an ancient house, perhaps with other remains, was likely to be claimed by the next storm.

The site became known as the "Ukkuqsi archaeological site" and was excavated. Several frozen bodies (now known as the "frozen family") were recovered. Autopsies were performed and they were re-interred as the first burials in the then-new Imaiqsaun Cemetery south of Barrow. Years later another body was washed out of the bluff. It was a female child, approximately 9 years old. She had clearly been born with a congenital birth defect. The child had never been able to walk. However she must have been cared for by family throughout her life. She was the best preserved ancient Inuit body ever recovered in Alaska. Radiocarbon dating of grave goods and of a strand of her hair all place her back to about 1200 AD.

During the 19th century the Western Arctic suffered a population decline of close to 90%. Scientists believe that this was the result of exposure to new diseases, including tuberculosis, measles, influenza, and smallpox. However autopsies near Greenland among different Inuit tribes reveal that more commonly pneumonia, kidney diseases, trichinosis, malnutrition, and degenerative disorders may have contributed to mass deaths. The Inuit believed that the causes of the disease were of a spiritual origin.

Canadian churches an, eventually the federal government ran the earliest health facilities for the Inuit population. These were either fully segregated hospitals or "annexes" and wards attached as separate facilities to settler hospitals. These "Indian hospitals" were focused on treating people for tuberculosis. However the diagnosis was difficult and treatment involved forced removal of individuals from their communities for in-patient confinement often far from home.

In October 2017 the federal Minister of Indigenous Services announced that in 2015 tuberculosis was 270 times more common among the Canadian Inuit than among non-indigenous southern Canadians. The Canadian Medical Association Journal published in 2013 the results of a study which indicated that "tuberculosis among Canadian Inuit has dramatically increased since 1997. In 2010 the incidence in Nunavut…was 304 per 100,000, more than 66 times the rate seen in the general population".

Inuit traditional laws are anthropologically different from Western law concepts. Customary law was thought non-existent in Inuit society before the introduction of the Canadian legal system. No known Western observer before 1970 was aware that any form of governance existed among any Inuit. However there were established ways of doing things that had to be followed. The term maligait referred to what had to be followed. Piqujait referred to what had to be done. Tirigusuusiit referred to what had to be avoided. If an individual's actions went against the tirigusuusiit, maligait or piqujait, the angakkuq (shaman) might have to intervene, lest the consequences be dire to the individual or the community.

The environment in which the Inuit lived inspired a mythology filled with adventure tales of whale and walrus hunts. Long winter months of waiting for caribou herds or sitting near breathing holes hunting seals gave birth to stories of mysterious and sudden appearance of ghosts and fantastic creatures. Some Inuit looked into the aurora borealis, or northern lights, to find images of their family and friends dancing in the next life. However some Inuit believed that the lights were more sinister. They believed that if you whistled at them, they would come down and cut off your head. This tale is still told to children today.

For others the northern lights were invisible giants or the souls of animals. To many the northern lights were a guide to hunting, or a spirit for to help the angakkuq with healing. They relied upon the angakkuq (shaman) for spiritual interpretation. The nearest thing to a central deity was the Old Woman (Sedna), who lived beneath the sea. As a central food source the waters were believed to contain great gods. The Inuit practiced a form of shamanism based on animist principles. They believed that all things had a form of spirit, including humans. They believed that to some extent these spirits could be influenced by a pantheon of supernatural entities. That these supernatural entities could be appeased when one required some animal or inanimate thing to act in a certain way.

The angakkuq of a community of Inuit was not the leader, but rather a sort of healer and psychotherapist. The angakkuq tended wounds and offered advice, as well as invoking the spirits to assist people in their lives. His or her role was to see interpret and exhort the subtle and unseen. Angakkuit were not trained. They were held to be born with the ability. They were recognized by the community as they approached adulthood.

Inuit religion was closely tied to a system of rituals integrated into the daily life of the people. These rituals were simple but held to be necessary. According to a customary Inuit saying, “the great peril of our existence lies in the fact that our diet consists entirely of souls”. Believing that all things have souls like those of humans complicated life. Any hunt for animals that failed to show appropriate respect and customary supplication would only give the liberated spirits cause to avenge themselves.

The harshness and unpredictability of life in the Arctic ensured that Inuit lived with concern for the uncontrollable. A streak of bad luck could destroy an entire community. To offend a spirit was to risk its interference with an already marginal existence. The Inuit understood that they had to work in harmony with supernatural powers to provide the necessities of day-to-day life.

Today the total Inuit population is about 148,000. They live in four countries: Canada, Greenland, Denmark, and the United States. Although the 50,000+ Inuit listed in the 2006 Canada Census can be found throughout Canada the majority (about 90%) live in only four regions. Half of those live in Nunavut. There the Inuit population forms a majority in all communities and is the only jurisdiction of Canada where Aboriginal peoples form a majority.

The Inuit population of about 50,000 forms 88% of the population of Greenland. The population size of Greenlandic people in Denmark varies from source to source. But according to 2015 figures from Statistics Denmark there are 15,815 people residing in Denmark of Greenlandic Inuit ancestry. Most originally traveled to Denmark for educational purposes. But many of those who do so remain after finishing their education. This results in the Inuit population being mostly concentrated in the big four educational cities of Copenhagen, Aarhus, Odense, and Aalborg. All four have vibrant Greenlandic communities and cultural centers. According to the 2000 United States Census there were a total of 16,581 Inuit/Inupiat living throughout the country. The majority, about 14,718, live in the state of Alaska.

The Inuit Circumpolar Council is a United Nations-recognized non-governmental organization (NGO), which defines its constituency as Canada's Inuit and Inuvialuit, Greenland's Kalaallit Inuit, Alaska's Inupiat and Yup'ik, and Russia's Siberian Yupik. This is despite the last two neither speak an Inuit dialect or consider themselves "Inuit". Nonetheless he NGO has come together with other circumpolar cultural and political groups to promote the Inuit and other northern people in their common interests. This includes the fight against ecological problems such as climate change, which disproportionately affects the Inuit population. The Inuit Circumpolar Council is one of the six group of Arctic indigenous peoples that have a seat as a so-called "Permanent Participant" on the Arctic Council. The Artic Council is an international high level forum in which the eight Arctic Countries (USA, Canada, Russia, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland) discuss Arctic policy.

The Inuvialuit are western Canadian Inuit who remained in the Northwest Territories when Nunavut split off. They live primarily in the Mackenzie River delta, on Banks Island, and parts of Victoria Island in the Northwest Territories. They are officially represented by the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation. In 1984 they received a comprehensive land claims settlement, the first in Northern Canada, with the signing of the Inuvialuit Final Agreement.

In 1953 Denmark put an end to the colonial status of Greenland and granted home rule in 1979. In 2008 a self-government referendum was passed with 75% approval. Although still a part of the Kingdom of Denmark (along with Denmark proper and the Faroe Islands), Greenland, known as Kalaallit Nunaat in the Greenlandic language, maintains much autonomy today. Of a population of 56,000, 80% of Greenlanders identify as Inuit. Their economy is based on fishing.

The Thule people arrived in Greenland in the 13th century. There they encountered the Norsemen who had established colonies there since the late 10th century. There was also a later wave of the Dorset people. Because most of Greenland is covered in ice, the Greenland Inuit (or Kalaallit) only live in coastal settlements. These are located on the northern polar coast, the eastern Amassalik coast, and the central coasts of western Greenland.

Alaska is governed as a state with very limited autonomy for Alaska Native peoples. European colonization of Alaska started in the 18th century by Russia. By the 1860s the Russian government was considering ridding itself of its Russian America colony. Alaska was officially incorporated to United States on January 3, 1959. The Inuit of Alaska are the Iñupiat who live in the Northwest Arctic Borough, the North Slope Borough and the Bering Strait region. Barrow, the northernmost city in the United States, is in the Inupiat region. Their language is Iñupiaq.

Inuit art forms include carving, print making, textiles and Inuit throat singing. All are very popular, not only in Canada but globally. Inuit artists are widely known. Canada has adopted some of the Inuit culture as national symbols, using Inuit cultural icons like the inukshuk in unlikely places. It was used as a symbol at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Respected art galleries display Inuit art, the largest collection of which is at the Winnipeg Art Gallery. Their traditional New Year is called Quviasukvik .

Some Inuit languages such as Inuktitut appears to have a more secure future in Quebec and Nunavut. There are a surprising number of Inuit who have experienced living on the land in the traditional life style. These even include those who now live in urban centers such as Ottawa, Montreal and Winnipeg. Inuit culture is alive and vibrant today in spite of the negative impacts of recent history. The Arctic Winter Games is an important biennial event. It is held in communities across the northern regions of the world, featuring traditional Inuit and northern sports as part of the events. A cultural event is also held.

The games were first held in 1970. While rotated usually among Alaska, Yukon and the Northwest Territories, they have also been held in Schefferville, Quebec, in 1976, in Slave Lake, Alberta, and a joint Iqaluit, Nunavut-Nuuk, Greenland staging in 2002. Although Inuit life has changed significantly over the past century, many traditions continue. Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit , or traditional knowledge such as storytelling, mythology, music, and dancing remain important parts of the culture. Family and community are very important. The Inuktitut language is still spoken in many areas of the Arctic and is common on radio and in television programming.

In 2002 the first feature film in Inuktitut, Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner, was released worldwide to great critical and popular acclaim. It was directed, written, filmed, produced, directed, and acted almost entirely by the Inuit of Igloolik. In 2009, the film Le Voyage D'Inuk, a Greenlandic-language feature film, was directed by Mike Magidson and co-written by Magidson and French film producer Jean-Michel Huctin Mitiarjuk Attasie Nappaaluk worked at preserving Inuktitut and wrote one of the first novels ever published in that language. In 2006, Cape Dorset was hailed as Canada's most artistic city, with 23% of the labor force employed in the arts. Inuit art such as soapstone carvings are one of Nunavut's most important industries.

Recently there has been an identity struggle among the younger generations of Inuit. The struggle has been between their traditional heritage and the modern society. The modern world has forced their culture to assimilate in order to maintain a livelihood. The Inuit are dependent on modern society for necessities. These include government jobs, food, aid, medicine, etc.). As a result Inuit have had much interaction with and exposure to the societal norms outside their previous cultural boundaries. The stressors regarding the identity crisis among teenagers have led to disturbingly high numbers of suicide.

A series of authors has focused upon the increasing myopia in the youngest generations of Inuit. Myopia was almost unknown prior to the Inuit adoption of western culture. Principal theories are the change to a western style diet with more refined foods, and extended education [Wikipedia].

SHIPPING & RETURNS/REFUNDS: We always ship books domestically (within the USA) via USPS INSURED media mail (“book rate”). Most international orders cost an additional $17.99 to $48.99 for an insured shipment in a heavily padded mailer. There is also a discount program which can cut postage costs by 50% to 75% if you’re buying about half-a-dozen books or more (5 kilos+). Our postage charges are as reasonable as USPS rates allow. ADDITIONAL PURCHASES do receive a VERY LARGE discount, typically about $5 per book (for each additional book after the first) so as to reward you for the economies of combined shipping/insurance costs.

Your purchase will ordinarily be shipped within 48 hours of payment. We package as well as anyone in the business, with lots of protective padding and containers. All of our shipments are fully insured against loss, and our shipping rates include the cost of this coverage (through stamps.com, Shipsaver.com, the USPS, UPS, or Fed-Ex). International tracking is provided free by the USPS for certain countries, other countries are at additional cost.

We do offer U.S. Postal Service Priority Mail, Registered Mail, and Express Mail for both international and domestic shipments, as well United Parcel Service (UPS) and Federal Express (Fed-Ex). Please ask for a rate quotation. Please note for international purchasers we will do everything we can to minimize your liability for VAT and/or duties. But we cannot assume any responsibility or liability for whatever taxes or duties may be levied on your purchase by the country of your residence. If you don’t like the tax and duty schemes your government imposes, please complain to them. We have no ability to influence or moderate your country’s tax/duty schemes.

If upon receipt of the item you are disappointed for any reason whatever, I offer a no questions asked 30-day return policy. Send it back, I will give you a complete refund of the purchase price; 1) less our original shipping/insurance costs, 2) less non-refundable PayPal/eBay payment processing fees. Please note that PayPal does NOT refund fees. Even if you “accidentally” purchase something and then cancel the purchase before it is shipped, PayPal will not refund their fees. So all refunds for any reason, without exception, do not include PayPal/eBay payment processing fees (typically between 5% and 15%) and shipping/insurance costs (if any). If you’re unhappy with PayPal and eBay’s “no fee refund” policy, and we are EXTREMELY unhappy, please voice your displeasure by contacting PayPal and/or eBay. We have no ability to influence, modify or waive PayPal or eBay policies.

ABOUT US: Prior to our retirement we used to travel to Europe and Central Asia several times a year. Most of the items we offer came from acquisitions we made in Eastern Europe, India, and from the Levant (Eastern Mediterranean/Near East) during these years from various institutions and dealers. Much of what we generate on Etsy, Amazon and Ebay goes to support The Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, as well as some other worthy institutions in Europe and Asia connected with Anthropology and Archaeology. Though we have a collection of ancient coins numbering in the tens of thousands, our primary interests are ancient jewelry and gemstones. Prior to our retirement we traveled to Russia every year seeking antique gemstones and jewelry from one of the globe’s most prolific gemstone producing and cutting centers, the area between Chelyabinsk and Yekaterinburg, Russia. From all corners of Siberia, as well as from India, Ceylon, Burma and Siam, gemstones have for centuries gone to Yekaterinburg where they have been cut and incorporated into the fabulous jewelry for which the Czars and the royal families of Europe were famous for.

My wife grew up and received a university education in the Southern Urals of Russia, just a few hours away from the mountains of Siberia, where alexandrite, diamond, emerald, sapphire, chrysoberyl, topaz, demantoid garnet, and many other rare and precious gemstones are produced. Though perhaps difficult to find in the USA, antique gemstones are commonly unmounted from old, broken settings – the gold reused – the gemstones recut and reset. Before these gorgeous antique gemstones are recut, we try to acquire the best of them in their original, antique, hand-finished state – most of them centuries old. We believe that the work created by these long-gone master artisans is worth protecting and preserving rather than destroying this heritage of antique gemstones by recutting the original work out of existence. That by preserving their work, in a sense, we are preserving their lives and the legacy they left for modern times. Far better to appreciate their craft than to destroy it with modern cutting.

Not everyone agrees – fully 95% or more of the antique gemstones which come into these marketplaces are recut, and the heritage of the past lost. But if you agree with us that the past is worth protecting, and that past lives and the produce of those lives still matters today, consider buying an antique, hand cut, natural gemstone rather than one of the mass-produced machine cut (often synthetic or “lab produced”) gemstones which dominate the market today. We can set most any antique gemstone you purchase from us in your choice of styles and metals ranging from rings to pendants to earrings and bracelets; in sterling silver, 14kt solid gold, and 14kt gold fill. When you purchase from us, you can count on quick shipping and careful, secure packaging. We would be happy to provide you with a certificate/guarantee of authenticity for any item you purchase from us. There is a $3 fee for mailing under separate cover. I will always respond to every inquiry whether via email or eBay message, so please feel free to write.

  • Condition: Très bon état
  • Condition: VERY GOOD. Very mild reading wear but slightly age-blemished (see detailed condition description below).
  • Topic: Ancient, Ancient World, Medieval
  • Format: Hardcover
  • Title: The Greenland Mummies
  • Type: Illustrated Book
  • Subjects: History & Military
  • Publication Year: 1991
  • Length: 192 pages
  • Dimensions: 10¼ x 8 x 1 inch; 1¾ pounds
  • Language: English
  • Publisher: British Museum
  • Special Attributes: Dust Jacket, Illustrated
  • ISBN: 0714125008

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