Origins of Paleoindians - The Aleuts and Inuit

The Aleuts and Inuit

One group adapted to the rich resources that could be harvested from the sea. These Upper Stone Age hunters set microblades into grooves on bone points, hafted them onto various types of shafts, and used them to hunt seals, whales, and caribou . They were probably the first people on earth to build watercraft by covering wooden frames with sealskins.

The Paleolithic ended by 10,000 and, in the New World, was followed by the Middle Lithic. By the end of the Middle Lithic in 7,000, small isolated settlements had appeared on the Aleutian Islands, the Alaskan Peninsula, and on both sides of the Seward Peninsula. After 4,500, continued melting of the polar ice cap opened the Arctic waters and permitted widespread settlement along the Arctic ring from Alaska to Greenland. This culture of Arctic dwellers would eventually become the Aleuts and Inuit—modern hunters and fishers of the Arctic .