The PurDose of Studvinc Eskimos land their / a Population Systems

• Main Author: William S Laughlin
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Arctic; Kayak; eskimo*; Subarctic
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.500.2611; http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic23-1-3.pdf

The Eskimos are a remarkably successful group of mankind. Their ability to adapt to difficult circumstances and to expand is accurately reflected in their geographical distribution. They stretch longitudinally around a large sector of the circumpolar world, and latitudinally from the subarctic into the high Arctic. With their closest relatives, the Aleuts, they occupy the longest linear distance of any single group in the world. Although this unique geographical distribution provides objective and conclusive evidence of their ability to expand, rather than simply survive, it does not automatically elucidate the processes of adaptation which are responsible. We must look at individual Eskimos and at communities of Eskimos through the methods of many disciplines, and then sift and integrate this information within the larger context of their population systems. Their physical abilities, their inventiveness, and their cheerfulness are as well known to the world as the words “Eskimo, ” “igloo, ” and “kayak. ” However, we do not know to what extent there are organic connections between physical endowments, genetic variability, inventive ingenuity, and cheerfulness of dis-