Eskimo Homes

Commonly called Eskimo, the Inuit people live in the Arctic regions of Alaska, Canada, Siberia and Denmark. In Inuktitut language, Inuit means "the people." Modern Inuit mostly live in small, prefabricated wooden homes, but in the past there were a few types of homes they would build. These homes varied by region, and the materials available to them, but mostly consisted of four main types.

Paleo-Eskimo and Neo-Eskimo houses were designed to support privacy and community despite harsh weather. Arctic houses used materials like driftwood, sea mammal bone, turf, and snow to withstand extreme cold. Arctic architecture evolved over time with types including tents, snow houses, and semi.

Surprising architectural secrets of Inuit dwellings reveal how ancient designs could solve modern construction challenges in extreme environments. Lee, Molly and Greg A. Reinhardt (2003) Eskimo Architecture: Dwelling and Structure in the Early Historic Period, University of Alaska Press, Fairbanks.

Keywords: architecture and design, Circumpolar North, seasonal patterns of activity Lee and Reinhardt provide illustrations and descriptions of the architecture of the Inuit peoples of Alaska (Yup'ik, Inupiaq, and Alutiiq), Canada (Inuit. Native American architecture-Arctic Tribes affected: Aleut, Inuit, Yupik Significance: Although the domed snow house is the most widely recognized Arctic habitation, a number of other types of structures have been used by groups in the Arctic culture area Throughout the Arctic, housing styles were largely a function of four factors: local weather conditions, availability of raw materials. Igloos: part of Pre-contact Native north American housing types, illustrations, maps, construction methods.

Igloo, temporary winter home or hunting-ground dwelling of Canadian and Greenland Inuit (Eskimos). The term igloo, or iglu, from Eskimo igdlu ("house"), is related to Iglulik, a town, and Iglulirmiut, an Inuit people, both on an island of the same name. The igloo, usually made from blocks of snow.

This is a domed house made of snow bricks, the name of which translates from the Eskimo language simply - "winter housing". Eskimos build an igloo in winter, however, in the regions where they live, this time lasts most of the year. Many believe that the igloo is built of snow and ice.

While many Inuit built igloos, others built homes out of whale bones and animal hides and insulated such homes with snow. When used as insulation for an igloo, the snow served to trap pockets of air within the igloo. Eskimo Housing: From Igloos to Modern Homes Eskimos, who are indigenous peoples inhabiting the circumpolar regions of the Arctic, have traditionally utilized a variety of housing types tailored to their harsh and cold environments.

These dwellings serve as insulation and protection against extreme cold temperatures, and some have become iconic symbols of Arctic life.