|
|
Article: The Arctic: a history: a mythical place--land of the frozen ocean, the aurora borealis and the midnight sun--the Arctic has long fascinated humankind. It has brought both riches and disaster to those who have tried to dominate it, while its indigenous people have been marginalized and exploited.(Report)
- Article from:
- New Internationalist
- Article date:
- July 1, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 New Internationalist Magazine. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Original inhabitants
Humans may have lived in the Arctic as long as 30,000 years ago. Towards the end of the last ice age, 10,000 years ago, hunters of caribou, woolly mammoths and woolly rhino followed herds of these animals through northern Siberia. They became the first humans to cross the Bering Strait to North America; a few thousand years later, some had settled along the Arctic coasts and become expert hunters of whales, walruses and seals. Although the indigenous peoples of the circumpolar world were ethnically diverse and scattered widely, their clothes, homes and semi-nomadic lifestyle gave them much in common. They hunted the same animals, shared some ...