Igloos

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. Combined with the body heat of the inhabitants of the igloo, temperatures can be more than 100 degrees warmer inside an igloo than outside.

Igloos were built with wind-blown snow that was easily shaped and compacted into blocks. The gaps left in the ground when the ice blocks were removed would serve as the base of the igloo structure. Such "snowbricks" would be laid in stacked circles until a dome was created. The entrance of the igloo would be covered with animal skins to keep as much warm air in the igloo as possible. Sleeping quarters were little more than large, raised ice blocks covered with caribou skins. Additionally, the lighting of the igloo’s stone lamp would cause slight melting within the igloo. When the lamp was extinguished, a re-freeze would occur, providing stability to the igloo structure.

Dogs

Dogs were an important part of Inuit culture. Dogs such as Canadian Eskimo Dogs, Alaskan Malamutes or Siberian Huskies were used as pack animals in the summer to drag supplies and to pull sleds in the winter. Such dogs also played an important role in hunting as they were experts in sniffing out seal breathing holes or in discovering and harassing polar bears. Inuit peoples would perform rituals upon the birth of new pups and would prick their noses with pins to enhance their sense of smell.

Mythology

Inuit mythology related to the natural wonders of the Arctic. The Aurora Borealis, or northern lights, were of particular mystery to the Inuit. Some believed that the faces of ancestors could be seen dancing within the swirling colors of the lights, while others believed the lights to be more deadly in nature. Still others saw them as hunting guides, healers, animal souls, or representations of giants. Inuit villages depended on shamans to interpret spiritual mysteries. These shamans (called angakkuq) also served as psychologists, healers, and fortune-tellers. Inuit peoples believed that all living things had powerful spirits and that the spirits of animals were equal to those of humans. Thus, if proper respect was not given to the spirit of an animal killed in the hunt, the Inuit believed its spirit would be able to avenge (or get payback for) its death.

Temperatures inside an igloo can be up to ___________ degrees warmer than the temperature outside.
Inuit used _____________ __________ to cover the doorways of their igloos to ensure as much warm air remained as possible.
Inuit sleeping quarters were little more than raised _________ blocks.
1. ice
To ensure their pups had a keen sense of smell, Inuits would _________ their noses.
The _________________ _____________ were interpreted in different ways by the Inuit. Some saw them as hunting guides or animal souls, while others saw them as deadly.
Inuit villages depended on ______________ as psychologists, healers, and fortune-tellers.
The Inuit believed that the spirits of animals were _____________ to the spirits of humans.
The Inuit believed that the proper respect must be paid to the spirit of an animal killed in a hunt, or else it could ____________ its death.