The Inuit were, and still are hunter-gatherer people. This
is because nothing can be domesticated in the Arctic's extreme climate,
everything had to be scavenged and hunted.
Fig. 1. Two Inuit children at Point Barrow, Alaska, holding the tusks of a large walrus, probably killed for food, circa 1930. (Photo by General Photographic Agency/Getty Images)
They gathered what's naturally available such as seaweed (kelps),
grass, roots, ect.
Hunted polar bears, walrus', caribou, whales, seals, narwhal
and even foxes for food and skins.
Because they ate mostly meat, their diets consist mainly of protein and fat. Also, due
to lack of fruits and veggies the Inuit also ate little carbs because it is
impossible to cultivate the naturally growing plants. Even though they ate very
little carbs, the excess of protein supplements the absence of carbs.
Ringed seal, whale skin and narwhals are essential to the
existence of the Inuit since they contain vitamin C, commonly found in fruits
and vegetables, as that is crucial for the humans to function normally.
Depended very much on catching and preserving food during
the hunting season since that is the only time where a sustainable source of
food is available since many of those animals only appear at a certain time of
year.
The Inuit preserved their food by drying it out or
immediately freezing it on the sea ice.
Ate almost everything raw due to kindling being a very
valuable and scarce resource
They are also very conservative, they ate almost every part
of the animal, used the inedible bone to make tools and the skins for clothing.
They wasted nothing due to how scarce it is.
Kelp forests throughout the world play an important role in coastal economies, supporting a broad range of tourism, recreational and commercial activities. Kelp is making its way onto the plates of North Americans, and the kelp aquaculture industry is growing at a rate of seven percent per year for the last 20 years globally (kelp is a coveted food source in many countries, full of potassium, iron, calcium, fibre and iodine). In the Arctic, Inuit traditionally use kelp as food and wild harvest numerous species.
The most common species used as Inuite foods are: (A) Alaria esculenta in Greenland, (B) Laminaria solidungula in the Beaufort Sea, Alaska (Ken Dunton), (C) Laminaria hyperborea in Malangen fjord, Norway (Karen Filbee-Dexter), (D) Saccharina latissima on sediment in Russia, (E) Agarum clathratum and (F) mixed Saccharina latissima, S. longicruris, Alaria esculenta, Laminaria solidungula in Baffin Island, Canada (Frithjof Küpper), (G) Eularia fistulosa in Aleutian Islands, Alaska (Pike Spector), (H) Laminaria hyperborea in Murmansk, Russia (Dalnie Zelentsy), (I) Laminaria digitata in Svalbard, Norway (Max Schwanitz).
Arctic kelp forests provide a key example of the diverse responses to climate change. Predictive models and experiments suggest that Arctic coasts are in line to become one of the most impacted environments in the world under changing climate. Yet the possible expansion of kelp forests should provide new habitats for fish and other marine organisms, and enhance a suite of valuable ecosystem services along Arctic coastlines.
This expanding resource may provide needed income to northern communities whose livelihoods are threatened by climate change and other impacts. Anticipating these changes and understanding these new ecosystems will be a key priority for Arctic nations. Just because you cannot see the forests growing in the Arctic does not mean we should not appreciate them and recognize the crucial role they play in the ocean.
Source:
📃 https://inuit-project.weebly.com/food.html
📷 Fig. 1.
https://www.vintag.es/2017/08/25-amazing-vintage-photographs-that.html?m=1
📷 Fig. 2. https://earthsky.org/earth/underwater-kelp-seaweed-forests-arctic/#:~:text=In%20the%20Arctic%2C%20Inuit%20traditionally%20use%20kelp%20as,impacted%20environments%20in%20the%20world%20under%20changing%20climate.
Subscribe by Email
Follow Updates Articles from This Blog via Email
No Comments