Circum-Polar Kayak Types: An Illustration of What is (and was)Where.
by Harvey Golden, 2007
I've long been fascinated by the diversity of Arctic kayak forms, and with the challenges, issues, and concepts regarding the creation of
a general typology of these forms. Other researchers have offered up typologies of kayaks before, so this is building on previous
works. I have added occasional new types based on my own museum studies and readings, and have chosen to present the typology with illustrations
keyed to a map. This typology is not broken down into sub-types, nor is it meant to stratify levels of development or suggest trends of influence; it is not
a family tree. The naming of the various forms brings up challenges as well: I have tried to steer away from specific local names in cases where
the form extends well beyond that location.
This typology conveys a general what and where, but I am also interested in temporal aspects: the question of 'when.' This third
angle complicates the goal, but also allows for the consideration of prehistoric and/or extinct varieties of kayaks. Inevitably, having a
broad temporal scope allows for enormous gaps where such information is lacking. The dates given in the notes below are very general: They
sometimes offer a range (if known), and sometimes just a segment of time during which one might have seen a particular kayak. In no way are
meant to categorically narrow down the presence of a kayak type.
The kayaks in this typology represent three cultures in Siberia: The Koryak, the Chukchi, and the Yuit (related to Alaskan Yupik,
a sub-group of Inuit/Eskimo). In North America, the kayaks of two main cultures are represented: The Aleuts, and the Inuit/Eskimo.
The latter group can be sub-divided into Yupik and Inupiaq/Inuit, sub-groups often referred to as Western Inuit and Eastern Inuit. Several
pre-historic kayak types are also depicted (based on models excavated at archaeological sites.) Please note general references at the bottom
of the page: See Bibliography for full notes. This is very much a work in progress, and I suspect the information here
will be modified over time with regards to
consistency, accuracy, and practicality.
Note:Clicking on images of kayaks below will send you to a representative replica of each (if built).
Use your browser's 'back' button to return here.
| 1. |  |
Koryak Kayak; Sea of Okhotsk and shores of Kamchatka. ~1910 |
|---|---|---|
| 2. |  |
Siberian Yuit. ~1910 |
| 3. |  |
Inland Chukchi; Anadyr Basin. ~1880 |
| 4. |  |
Maritime Chukchi; Anadyr Gulf. ~1880 |
| 5. |  |
Okvik/Old Bering Sea; N. Chukchi Penin. ~0 c.e. |
| 6. |  |
Punuk Phase; St. Lawrence Island. ~1000 c.e. |
| 7. |  |
Aleutian. ~1800s * |
| 8. |  |
Pacific Yupik; Kodiak Is. to Prince William Sound. ~1800s * (commonly referred to as 'Kodiak kayak') |
| 9. |  |
Bristol Bay/Aglegmiut. ~1800s |
| 10. |  |
Bering Sea Yupik; Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. ~1800s |
| 11. |  |
Norton Sound (Yupik). ~1800s |
| 12. |  |
Norton Sound/South Seward Peninsula. ~1800s |
| 13. |  |
Bering Straits/King Island Inupiaq. ~1800s * |
| 14. |  |
Bering Straits/North Seward Peninsula. ~1800s |
| 15. |  |
Kotzebue Sound-North Alaska Inupiaq. ~1800s ** |
| 16. |  |
Point Barrow Inupiaq (Possible Inland variation). ~1800s ** |
| 17. |  |
MacKenzie River Delta Inuit. ~1800s |
| 18. |  |
Copper Inuit; Coronation Gulf/inland. ~1900 |
| 19. |  |
Nattilingmiut; King Wm. Isl./Boothia Pen. vicin. ~1900 |
| 20. |  |
Caribou Inuit. Baker Lake-Kazan Riv. & W. Hudson Bay. ~early 1900s |
| 21. |  |
Aivilingmiut/Iglulik (Open Water kayak). ~1900 |
| 22. |  |
Aivilingmiut/Iglulik (Inland kayak). ~pre 1870s |
| 23. |  |
East Hudson Bay/Belcher Islands. ~1900s * |
| 24. |  |
North Baffin Is./Modern Iglulik. ~1900s ** |
| 25. |  |
Hudson Straits, South Baffin, Labrador. ~1900 |
| 26. |  |
Polar Greenland (Inuhuit). 1860s-~1900 |
| 27. |  |
Polar Greenland (Inuhuit). ~1900+-1950s |
| 28. |  |
Polar Greenland (Inuhuit). 1950s to present |
| 29. |  |
Thule Culture (Punuk Influence); Upernavik. ~1200s-1300s c.e. |
| 30. |  |
Thule Culture (Birnirk Influence); Polar Greenland. ~1000-1300 c.e. |
| 31. |  |
West Greenland; Northwest. ~1600s-1900s |
| 32. |  |
West Greenland; Central Coast(?) ~1600s |
| 33. |  |
West Greenland; Northwest. ~1900s |
| 34. |  |
West Greenland; Entire West Coast(?) ~late 1700s-1900 |
| 35. |  |
West Greenland; Central Coast. ~1600s |
| 36. |  |
West Greenland; South West Coast. ~1850s-1950s |
| 37. |  |
West Greenland; Entire Coast. "Rolling Kayak" ~1990s-present |
| 38. |  |
South Greenland. ~1800s-1900s |
| 39. |  |
East Greenland. Ammassalik vicin. ~1800s-1900. |
| 40. |  |
East Greenland. Ammassalik vicin. ~1900-1980s. ** |
**= Shorter 'retrieval'/ice-floe hunting versions represented in museums.
(C) Harvey Golden, 2007
MAIN REFERENCES: (go to Bibliography to see full entries).
Arima, 1975, 1987; Boas, 1901-07; Golden, 2006; Heath 1975, 1978; Nelson, 1899; Zimmerly, 2000.