You might be wondering how a house made of snow could possibly shield Inuit hunters from frigid temperatures. After all, snow is pretty cold — and aren't igloos meant to counteract the cold? You may also be wondering why the Inuit would subject themselves to these icy conditions in the first place. But there's a reason why they made their homes in these areas.
"Eskimo" is believed to mean "eaters of raw meat" [source: University of Waterloo]. Eskimo is considered a derogatory term because the name was bestowed upon the Inuit by non-Inuits. Some linguists now believe that the word "Eskimo" means "to net snowshoes," although it's pretty much impossible to prove. So, even though many people use the terms interchangeably or think they are separate tribes, the group prefers to be referred to as Inuit.
The impressive geographical reach of the Inuit makes them the most widespread aboriginal group in the world. They are arguably also one of the toughest, having survived one of the most unpleasant climates in the world for millennia. Inuit adapted long ago to the harsh Arctic conditions. Throughout history, the Inuit relied much more heavily than the rest of the world on animals for nourishment, largely because plants just can't grow where they live. Because of their largely carnivorous diets, Inuit hunters traveled from their homes to the much colder areas near sea ice, where they could hunt seals. The hunters stayed in their igloos for as little as few days at a time to entire winters. Many people believe incorrectly that Inuit live only in igloos. This myth couldn't be farther from the truth — Inuit use igloos almost exclusively as hunting camps. In fact, although most Inuit live in regular old houses now, igloos are still used for the occasional hunting trip.
Unfortunately, for the inhabitants of Earth's more frigid regions, such as the Canadian tundra, neither of these were good options. Building materials were pretty much nonexistent, making it difficult to craft even the most rudimentary home. These people used the only abundant material to form a modest roof over their heads: snow. Thus, the igloo, the Inuit word for "snow house," was born. The Inuit, better known to many as Eskimos, invented the igloo centuries ago. The igloo was a means for hunters to survive brutal winters in a vast area spanning more than 3,500 miles, including eastern Siberia, Greenland, Alaska and parts of Canada.
You might be wondering how a house made of snow could possibly shield Inuit hunters from frigid temperatures. After all, snow is pretty cold — and aren't igloos meant to counteract the cold? You may also be wondering why the Inuit would subject themselves to these icy conditions in the first place. But there's a reason why they made their homes in these area's.
In this article, you'll learn how igloos are built and how the properties of snow helped the ingenious Inuit create a low-cost, low-effort shelter. We'll also discuss the truth about some common igloo-related myths, as well as the basics of how to build your own igloo.
Bundle up and brace yourself because igloos aren't just picturesque mounds of snow dotting the frozen landscape — there's a whole lot to them. We'll start by learning about the Inuit, inventors of the igloo.
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