ABSTRACT
Humans settled in even the coldest areas of North America. The Arctic was the last region to be peopled. Most of the historic societies of the North were hunter-gatherer bands similar to those of America’s earliest inhabitants. The vast northern region is almost twice the size as the rest of the continent. Nowhere else is the articulation of evolving technology, society, and the environment more sharply defined. Waves of migratory expansion originating in the western Arctic are particularly apparent after 2200 bce. The most widespread of these lifeways led to Dorset and later Thule adaptations. Housing and the technology used in transportation and hunting were critically important for survival, yet spare time during long arctic winter nights also fostered the growth of the decorative arts. The Subarctic region south of the tree line was also home to hunter-gatherers, but in this case, they were adapted to northern forest environments. Birchbark was vital for the construction of containers, canoes, and shelters. The early inhabitants of the Subarctic were the ancestors of the historic Algonquian and Athapascan nations.
