Kayaks whilst shooting the movie. Picture: SOS Eisberg 1929-31 Foto ferd Vogel | Introduction
Kayaks whilst shooting the movie. Picture: SOS Eisberg 1929-31 Foto ferd Vogel |
| In this presentation about living and surviving in the kayak, one must consider the reason for braving the open sea in such a small vessel. Equally, we want to examine briefly how current science imagines how the Inuit crossed from the Asian to the American mainland and then spread out over the northern tier of that continent. We are using here the name Eskimo, because it is the popular recognized term and its usage in the historical literature. The name Inuk (human, plural Inuit) describes and is the official appellation for the inhabitant(s) of the polar region. The period of about 8,000 years before the present (BP) is shrouded in uncertainty and assumption. However, it is scientifically proven that, after a period of very lengthy migration, the inhabitants of the polar region crossed from the Asiatic mainland to the American continent. How much of the Bering Strait at that time was still land, or already flooded, is not known. However, one can assume that these people had water transport to cross over the Bering Strait. A boat was necessary in order to drive caribou into the water during the hunt. Notching in caribou antlers indicate that these were simple leather boats Moreover, petroglyphs prove their existence Further more, it is certain that about 4,000 years ago these people spread out along the northern coast in an easterly direction |  Wood engraving by Paul Urban, (U-R-F kollektiv) Berlin from the book IVALU, Roman von P. Freuchen Büchergilde Gutenberg Berlin 1931 |
 picture above: bone/antlers as rib. right picture: reconstruction of a Boat with leather skin German Maritime Museum, Bremerhaven) Foto: W. Half |
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 Graphic from"Jäger des hohen Nordens" TIME LIFE, 1981 |
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