Abstract
Three 600‐year‐old hooded gut‐skin parkas were excavated in 1947 at the settlement Nuulliit, situated in the North Water polynya between Ellesmere Island and Avanersuaq in northern Greenland. The parkas, radiocarbon dated to the 14th century AD, belong to the Thule Period Inuit, who migrated from the Bering Strait region through Arctic North America into northern Greenland after 1250 AD. This study compares the Nuulliit parkas with gut‐skin parkas collected from 1846–1945 among resident Inuit in Alaska and eastern Greenland. Further, a comparison is conducted with female and male fur‐skin parkas from Inuit in the Bering Strait region and Alaska.
The analyses of the parkas’ cutting, sewing techniques, and material consumption show that the characteristic cut with double hood roots (inserted in the mid‐shoulders or directly connected to the hood), sleeve gussets, and vertical orientation of gut‐skin panels were used for at least 550 years among the Inuit.
In 1947, the Danish archaeologist Erik Holtved (1899–1981) excavated the remains of three relatively well‐preserved gut‐skin parkas and other fragments of skin clothing on the settlement Nuulliit in the North Water polynya of Avanersuaq, northern Greenland (Holtved 1954). The finds were dated to the 14th century AD using carbon‐14 dating of a contextually related midden (Gotfredsen et al. 2018:200, 204). The Nuulliit finds belong to the Nunatta Katersugaasivia Allagaateqarfialu (Greenland National Museum and Archives) in Nuuk (hereafter NKA).
This article aims to identify the possible similarities in the fabrication of gut‐skin parkas preserved from the 14th century AD to the mid‐20th century AD among the Inuit. The 600‐year‐old gut‐skin parkas exhibit distinct cutting elements. A series of questions arise: Which parts of the old design were seen in the younger parkas? Is the same sewing technique used? Is similar material consumed? Which gender probably used the 600‐year‐old parkas from Nuulliit? Did the gut‐skin parka have a particular purpose? The essential question about the material used for the gut‐skin parkas (i.e., which mammal species were used) will be addressed in future publications.
This study examines the fabrication of the ancient gut‐skin parkas (i.e., cutting, sewing, and material consumption). A comparison is conducted with eight gut‐skin parkas and three fur‐skin parkas from the National Museum of Denmark (NMD) and the NKA. These garments were collected from 1846–1945 among the Yupiget in Siberia, the Iñupiat in Alaska, the Inuvialuit in the Northwest Territories in Arctic Canada, and the Iivit in eastern Greenland. The usage of gut‐skin parkas persisted in the Bering Strait region, Alaska, and eastern Greenland for the longest time. Evidence of gut‐skin parkas was not found in the NMD Inuit collections from the central Arctic of Canada. However, in 1914, a gut‐skin parka with double hood roots from Hopedale, Labrador, was reported by the Danish archaeologist and cultural geographer Aage Gudmund Hatt (1884–1960) in the NMD collection (1969:53). Unfortunately, this garment no longer exists. Similar gut‐skin parkas were collected from the Inuit at Labrador by Captain George F. Lyon ([1824]2014:19) in the early 1820s and Lucien Turner (Turner [1894]2001:220–222) in the 1880s. The collections belong to the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
Background
The Thule Inuit Period dates, depending on the geographical Arctic area, run from approximately the 11th century AD to the 20th century AD (Mønsted et al. 2022). The Thule Culture was remarkably identical across North America and Greenland (Issenman 1997a:10, 1997b:34). Originating in northern Alaska, the Thule Inuit entered the Bering Strait region and coastal Arctic Canada into northern Greenland around AD 1250. After the 14th century, the Inuit of the Thule Period had settlements throughout Greenland along the coast (Gulløv 2004:282).
Archaeological evidence of the Thule Period consists of inorganic materials (e.g., stone and metal) and organic materials (e.g., wood, bones, teeth, antlers, and baleen used for housing, tools, transportation, and more). Excavations have also uncovered remnants of softer organic materials like fur clothing, straps, and boat skin. The Thule Inuit also used tissues from mammalian hollow organs encompassing the esophagus, intestine, rectum, stomach, and urinary bladder. Such findings are, however, rare in an archaeological context (Issenman 1997a:18–29, 73–74, 1997b:44–54).
In the present study, the term “gut skin” covers the tissue from hollow organs, as it was not possible to identify the specific tissue. In addition, gut skin and tendons served as sewing thread, straps, and lashings (Issenman 1997a:84–85). Regarding sewing thread, this study generally uses the term “sinew” for thread material without further specification, as it was impossible to identify the tissue type.
The literature behind this study dates from the early 18th century to the present day. Thus, information about gut‐skin preparation and use was collected centuries after the beginning of the Thule Period but is based on the inherited knowledge and memory of many preceding Inuit generations.
The Processing of Raw Material
Inuit women prepared animal skins, cut them, and sewed them for clothing. In addition to fur‐covered skin from terrestrial and sea mammals and bird skin for clothing, they used gut skin mainly from seals. Gut skin was utilized for waterproof parkas and ceremonial garments, windows, tent aprons, carriers, and toys (Fabricius 1780 in Kapel 2005; Holtved 1967; Issenman 1997a). Besides seals, gut skin came from walruses, whales, sea lions, and bears. Inuit women produced thread for sewing from tendons of the same mammals, as well as from caribou, Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus), and birds (Issenman 1997a; Jenness 1946:87).
Gut Skin
The tissue covering the hollow organs of mammals, such as the colon, small intestine, rectum, stomach, and urinary bladder, is composed of four layers: an inner layer (Tunica mucosa), a middle layer (Tela submucosa), and an outer layer (Tunica muscularis), with a membrane (Tunica serosa) (Putz and Pabst 1994). For gut‐skin manufacturing, the Inuit used the robust Tela submucosa, which consists of collagen fibers arranged in a tight crosswise and diagonal network (Gabella 1987:496; Iversen 2011:18; Morrison 1986:17). The Inuit also used the tissue of the esophagus (Fabricius 1780 in Kapel 2005:73; Issenman 1997a:74). However, the anatomical structure of the esophagus is different (consisting of a thicker layer of Tela submucosa) (Putz and Pabst 1994; Preben Dybdahl Thomsen, personal communication 2022).
The Inuit performed the laborious removal of the inner and outer layers of the gut skin in various ways. The Alaskan and Canadian Inuit used a blunt tool for scraping the inner layer of the gut. The upper section of one bearded seal’s (Erignathus barbatus) intestine would provide enough material for one parka (Wilder 1977:16). In Alaska, the prepared skin was soaked in urine overnight, washed in soap, and rinsed thoroughly in water (Hickman 1987:26). After repeated washing the material consisted of pure collagen fibers (Florian 2007:30–32). The Bering Strait Inuit preferred gut from walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) for waterproof parkas (Issenman 1997a:36). It was blown up to stretch the clean, finished gut. With the ends tied, the gut dried in a short time. Finally, the gut was cut lengthwise to make a long strip, ready for stitching (Reed 2008). The temperature of the drying process determined the final appearance. In winter, the material becomes white and opaque (in Alaska, named “winter gut”), while in the summer, it becomes yellowish and translucent (“summer gut”) (Issenman 1997a:82; Reed 2008). The finished gut skin was light and waterproof (Murdoch 1892:122). A gut‐skin parka wore out in two years (Hickman 1987:23).
In central Arctic Canada, including Baffin Island, the use of gut‐skin parkas among Inuit was—according to the literature—not known: “Between Labrador and Point Barrow [Nuvuk in northwestern Alaska], they [the gut of bearded seal] are probably not used” (Thalbitzer [1914]2010:575). However, as stated above, the Inuit in Labrador used gut skin for parkas (Hatt [1914]1969; Lyon [1824]2014; Turner [1894]2001).
The Kalaallit in western Greenland produced gut skin from harp seal (Phoca groenlandicus). They cleaned the gut by pressing it between two fingers and stored it in blubber for some days. Afterward, they chewed the gut “to peel off the outer and inner fleshy coating, leaving nothing but the fine membrane” (Fabricius 1780 in Kapel 2005:73). Warm, melted blubber poured into the gut eased the process. With all fleshy parts removed, they washed the gut skin in seawater to stiffen the material. They blew the rinsed gut up and dried it; in winter, they pegged it on the snow to make the gut skin “white and clear” (Fabricius 1780 in Kapel 2005:73); presumably, the blubber treatment made the gut translucent. Finally, they split the gut longitudinally and stored them in rolls until use for clothing, tent curtains, windows, floats, bags, and other items (Fabricius 1780 in Kapel 2005:72–73).
Fabricius (1780 in Kapel 2005:72–73) stated that the Kalaallit preferred esophageal skin for windows as the material is more resistant to storms. They prepared esophageal skin by chewing off the outer layer, splitting the material into two layers, soaking it in urine, and drying it outstretched (Fabricius 1780 in Kapel 2005:73). Likewise, they treated and used the tissues from the hollow organs of the ringed seal (Phoca hispida), hooded seal (Cystophora cristata), and bearded seal. The guts from the latter were considered the best for tent aprons because they were larger, needed fewer seams, and allowed more light transmission (Fabricius 1780 in Kapel 2005:104). The Kalaallit women removed the outer layer of the seal gut by pulling it through a string tied tightly together (Birket‐Smith 1924:104). The finished gut‐skin garment was fragile and often needed patching (Fabricius 1780 in Kapel 2005:73). The Inughuit in northern Greenland loosened the inner layer of the gut in hot water (Holtved 1967:135). Regrettably, information about gut‐skin preparation in eastern Greenland is not available.
Generally, the finished gut‐skin parka was worn as the intestine in vivo—the outside of the intestine was turned outward, and the inside was turned inwards. This reversal exploited the intestine’s ability to form an impermeable membrane and be waterproof from the outside but still permeable to water vapor through the inside (Issenman 1997a:73–74; Morrison 1986:17).
Sinew
Inuit women produced sinew thread from the tendons of marine and terrestrial mammals and birds. Tendons lie underneath the skin and consist of connective tissue, often attached to the animal’s bones within a small area. Tendons were pulled from the flesh, cleaned, stretched, dried, and stored for later manufacture.
In the Canadian Arctic, the best thread came from the fibrous nerves in the tail of the bearded seal (Issenman 1997a:84). Attached to the tenderloins of the caribou are bundles of dorsal tendons, which are excellent for sinew making for sewing clothing, tents, bedding, and boat covers. The tendons along the muscles in the legs are much coarser, and the Canadian Inuit used these for lashings and lines (Issenman 1997a:84; Jenness 1946:86–87). The women cleaned the caribou tendons carefully, washed and dried them, and kept the material in a cold place until use without drying them completely. They then used their teeth or thumbnails to separate the fibers and twisted or rolled the sinew to make it even and smooth (Issenman 1997a:84). Some Inuit in Alaska and Canada preferred more robust sinew from the back of the narwhal (Monodon monocerus) or beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) (Issenman 1997a:36, 84). In the western Canadian Arctic, the Inuit used tendons from the tail of the arctic fox as sinew thread (Jenness 1946:87).
Depending on the purpose, the Kalaallit women in western Greenland split the dried tendons and used them either as a single twinned thread or several plaited threads. They considered the tendons from the tail and limbs of the harp seal as the most inferior thread as the tendons were shorter, coarser, and weaker than other mammals’ sinew. The Kalaallit produced a thread from the ringed seal using gut skin, splitting it with their teeth. Tendons from the polar bear (Ursus maritimus) also served as threads (Fabricius 1780 in Kapel 2005:74, 85, 108). The Kalaallit also used sinew from the Arctic fox (Helms 1929:63).
The ability of sinew to swell in a humid environment made the seams waterproof (Issenman 1997a:85).
Sewing Techniques and Use of Gut‐Skin Garments
Inuit women stitched gut‐skin panels together with sewing needles made from the bones of fish, birds, caribou, and others with or without a drilled eye, as well as commercially manufactured metal needles (Hatt [1914]1969:20). Commonly, they used a tight overcast stitch for joining the skin pieces together, leaving no protruding sewing allowances (Issenman 1997a:89–90). However, the fragile nature of the gut skin required running stitches (i.e., sewn with less dense stitches) (Hatt [1914]1969:22).
According to Engelstad, the conservative Inuit parka pattern falls into two groups: 1) In southwestern Alaska and the Bering Strait region, among Unangax, Aluutiiq/Sugpiaq, Yup’ik, and Yupik peoples, a horizontally tiered parka was made from gut skin, bird skin, or small mammal furs; 2) Among Inuit in northern Alaska, Arctic Canada, and Greenland, a tailored parka was made from caribou and seal skin (Engelstad 2020:235–237). This article focuses on the parka traditions among Inuit in northern Alaska and Greenland.
Following local Inuit clothing tradition in Alaska and the Bering Strait region, gut‐skin parkas, with or without a hood, were used by both genders for ceremonial purposes, protection against rain, wind, and/or hunting at sea (Reed 2008; Hatt [1914]1969:53–56). The hooded parka with vertical panels was used among Inuit in northern Alaska, with horizontal or vertical panels in southwestern Alaska (Crowell et al. 2010:128; Fienup‐Riordan 2007; Issenman 1997a:73). In the Bering Strait region, the hoodless parka with horizontal panels often had a standing collar, probably a foreign influence (Hatt [1914]1969:55).
The outside of the gut skin faced outwards on the finished garment, using the gut’s natural water resistance. The seamstress turned the edges of the strips narrowly from the outside to the inside and sewed them together through four layers of material, often with running stitches. These seams were watertight as they were not directly exposed to external moisture (Issenman 1997a:91–93). The seamstress strengthened the sewing by adding extra threads along the seam (Hatt [1914]1969:22). Additional skin and cloth strips were sewn into the seams for decoration and to enhance the water tightness (Reed 2008).
In Greenland, hooded gut‐skin parkas were used mostly by men, but also by women and children as protection against rain and wind, and for men, especially as waterproof hunting garments in the kayak (Buijs 2004:46–48; Lidegaard 1991:100). In Greenland, the panels were solely vertical (Hatt [1914]1969:52). In northern Greenland, gut‐skin parkas went out of use at the beginning of the 20th century (Holtved 1954:103). In western Greenland, the use of gut‐skin parkas disappeared in the late 19th century (Birket‐Smith 1924:187). The tradition remained in eastern Greenland until the 1930s (Buijs 2004:116).
Sewing stitches in the Greenlandic gut‐skin garments are not described. In eastern Greenland, the gut‐skin parka was embroidered with narrow strips of dehaired seal skin (Thalbitzer [1914] 2010:575).
Empirical Material: The Gut‐Skin Parkas
Parkas from Nuulliit, 14th Century AD
The discovery of clothing items in 1947 in the winter house ruins at the site Nuulliit in the North Water polynya in Avanersuaq (formerly the Thule Region), northern Greenland, was significant for the understanding of the Thule Period’s long‐term technological continuity. With the Inughuit hunters from northern Greenland, Miteq and Maigsãnguaq, and his wife Birgitte, Erik Holtved located 62 house ruins, of which almost 40 were excavated in a single season. In the ruins, the team uncovered several skin garments, among them three almost full‐sized gut‐skin parkas, a few fragments of gut skin, a bird‐skin hood, two fragmented bird‐skin garments, and some footwear fragments of fur skin and dehaired skin (Holtved 1954:81–90).
In one of the ruins, House 28, excavation revealed several torn clothing pieces of gut skin, which turned out to be the aforementioned three parkas. After being transported from Greenland to the NMD laboratory, the fragile materials were carefully treated and made sufficiently pliable for documentation (Holtved 1954:81). Unfortunately, no one documented the primary conservation treatment. Some lubricant was added, maybe cod‐liver oil, glycerol, castor oil, or mixtures thereof (according to conservation notes 1935–1952, compiled by the NMD conservator Knud Thorvildsen). Afterward, Holtved successfully managed to draw the parkas in one plane from the front, backside, and sides (Holtved 1954:82–85).
During the following decades of storage at the NMD, the Nuulliit find was treated with various biocides against pests. In 1982, the Greenlandic Home Rule and the Danish Government agreed on the return of approximately 35,000 Greenlandic objects from the NMD to the NKA (Gabriel 2009). The agreement included a request for conservation of the objects before repatriation (Schultz‐Lorentzen 1990:117–118).
Only the Nuulliit garments remained at the NMD untreated due to their contaminated, greasy, folded, and fragile state. In 2019–2020, conservators at the NMD successfully cleaned, unfolded, supported, and finally made the objects ready for return to the NKA. Holtved’s drawings were a helpful tool to ease and improve conservation treatment. With guidance from the drawings, soft, inert material paddings were sewn to support the fragile parkas. A comparison between the parkas and the drawings revealed that the parkas had not shrunk during treatment and storage (see Fig. 1, where the final securing of a parka before transport is illustrated).
In 2020, for proper storage and safe transport to Greenland, conservator Eva Lilja Jensen fastened the cleaned, fragile parka, L3.12893, with cotton straps to a polyester plate. The parka is filled with flexible and soft padding sewn in polypropylene (Tyvek) with polyester filling. The paddings were cut and sewn according to Holtved’s 1:1 drawing. All materials used are inert.
Parka, L3.12893, House Ruin 28
The best‐preserved parka today is L3.12893 (Fig. 2). Holtved’s drawings show the garment from the front (A), the side of the hood (B), under the sleeve (C), and from the back (Holtved 1954:81–82). Figure 2 also shows the parka from the front after the conservation treatment.
Parka, L3.12893. 1:1 drawing of the front (A), hood (B), sleeve (C), and back. At the front and back, on both sides of the hood, is a pointed gusset. A triangular piece is under the chin. A gut‐skin panel acts as a hood‐and‐shoulder yoke. Two long strips run from the back to the front. Rounded flaps at the lower front and back. Pointed gussets are on the inside of the sleeve and the side seam. Straps of dehaired skin with epidermis border the hood opening and lower bottoms. At the sleeves, cuffs of gut skin. The illustration is based on Holtved’s (1954:82–83) drawings. Above is the front side of the garment after conservation in 2020. When found in 1947, the inside of the parka faced outwards. It was turned inwards during conservation. Photo from the National Museum of Denmark, Roberto Fortuna.
The parka is made from vertical strips of gut skin, 4–8 cm wide. The gut‐skin strips have an uneven sewing allowance (up to 0.5 cm difference) tucked into the inner side of the garment. The strips are sewn together with sinew in overcast stitch and occasionally running stitch, 25–30 stitches per 10 cm. The hood opening is edged with a strip of dehaired sealskin, 1 cm wide, and sewn with sinew in an overcast stitch, 25–30 stitches per 10 cm. Also, the rounded flaps at the short front and the long back, supplied with a 10 cm wide edge of short strips of gut skin, are bordered with a strip of dehaired sealskin. The sleeves are sewn with wrinkles to the cuffs of folded gut skin, approximately 6 cm wide. The total length from the hood crown to the bottom of the back is 131 cm, and the fathom width is 130 cm.
A central strip reaches over the crown of the hood, from one shoulder to the other, acting as a central supporting “hood‐and‐shoulder yoke” (Holtved 1954:104) for the garment’s construction. The back of the hood is sewn in vertical strips to the hood‐and‐shoulder yoke. At the front, a triangular throat piece is inserted under the chin and sewn to the hood‐and‐shoulder yoke by a 5‐cm‐wide strip running around the hood opening. The front and back are sewn to the hood‐and‐shoulder yoke; both pieces have two long pointed hood roots inserted at the middle of each shoulder, central beneath the hood. Over the shoulders, sewn to the hood‐and‐shoulder yoke, two long strips run from the back to the front. To these, the sleeves are sewn in vertical strips. The sleeves have pointed gussets from several pieces inserted from underneath the elbows and running down to the lower edge of the parka.
Parka, L3.12894, House Ruin 28
The parka, L3.12894 (Fig. 3), was more damaged (Holtved 1954:83–84) but has the same basic construction and common pattern traits as L3.12893. Thus, it consists of a central hood‐and‐shoulder yoke from shoulder to shoulder over the hood crown, vertical strips to the rounded short front and longer back, inserted pointed hood roots at the mid‐shoulders at the front and back, and horizontal strips at the back of the hood. Perhaps the sleeves were attached differently than on L3.12893 and L3.12895. The gut‐skin strips are up to 13 cm wide. An uneven sewing allowance tucked to the backside is sewn with sinew in an overcast stitch, up to 40 stitches per 10 cm. The gut skin is tucked in and sewn with overcast stitches at the remaining hood opening.
Parka, L3.12894. Left, 1:1 drawing of the front side (top), back (A), and hood (B) after Holtved (1954). At the front and back, on both sides of the hood, is a pointed gusset. A gut‐skin panel acts as a hood‐and‐shoulder yoke. The lower front flap is rounded. The back flap and the borders at the hood opening, lower bottom, and sleeves are not preserved. The illustration is based on Holtved’s (1954:84) drawings. Right, front side after the conservation treatment in 2020 (top). Backside before treatment (bottom). Photos from the National Museum of Denmark, Roberto Fortuna.
Parka, L3.12895, House Ruin 28
The parka, L3.12895 (Fig. 4), was also fragmented (Holtved 1954:85–86). This parka differs from L3.12893 and L3.12894 by its hood back, which is made from vertical gut‐skin strips running from the crown of the hood to the lower bottom of the parka. The central hood‐and‐shoulder yoke, vertical strips at the rounded short front and long back, triangular throat piece at the front, inserted pointed hood roots at the mid‐shoulders front and back, two long strips from the back to the front, and the vertical strips of the fragmented sleeves resemble the pattern of L3.12893. The gut‐skin strips are 4–11 cm wide. With an uneven sewing allowance tucked to the backside, the strips are sewn with slightly twisted sinew in an overcast stitch, 20–30 stitches per 10 cm.
Parka, L3.12895. Left, 1:1 drawing of the front, the back (A), and the hood (B). At the front and back, on both sides of the hood, is a pointed gusset. A small triangular piece is under the chin. A gut‐skin panel acts as a hood‐and‐shoulder yoke. Two long strips run from the back to the front. The lower front appears slightly curved, while the lower back flap is rounded. No borders are preserved at the hood opening or lower bottom. The illustration is based on Holtved’s (1954:85) drawing of the garment. Above, on the front side, is the parka after conservation in 2020. Photo from the National Museum of Denmark, Roberto Fortuna.
Figure 5 illustrates the common features of the three Nuulliit parkas.
Common traits of the three Nuulliit parkas: a) The front with vertical strips containing 1) double pointed hood roots inserted in the mid shoulders, 2) gussets under the sleeves and side seams, 3) hood‐and‐shoulder yoke, and 4) a triangular gusset under the chin. Shoulder strip from front to back—a rounded flap at the lower bottom. b) and c) Two versions of the Nuulliit parkas’ backs, with a horizontal and a vertical hood back. A hood‐and‐shoulder yoke, pointed, double hood roots, and gussets were inserted in the sleeves and side seams. Shoulder strip from front to back—an extended, rounded flap at the lower bottom.
Comparative Garments
For comparison with the Nuulliit parkas, this study surveyed the gut‐skin parkas from the NKA and NMD collected from 1846 to 1945 among the Inuit in the Bering Strait region, Alaska, and Greenland. The two collections have 53 gut‐skin parkas (see Appendix 1). The three Nuulliit gut‐skin parkas are included in Appendix 1.
The survey of 53 gut‐skin parkas (see Table 1) demonstrates that the parkas were mainly male garments. Furthermore, parkas constructed from horizontal strips came from the Inuit in the Bering Strait region and Alaska. These parkas were perhaps of a younger origin than parkas with vertical strips (Hatt [1914]1969:55). No gut‐skin garments from the Inuit in the Canadian central Arctic and northern Greenland were present in the collections. In Greenland, this garment was mainly used by the Iivit in eastern Greenland. Except for a girl’s and a boy’s parka from eastern Greenland with flaps at the front and back, all parkas have a straight‐cut lower bottom, indicating the customary cut for the male Inuit parka. Of 27 male parkas from Greenland, two came from western Greenland and 25 from eastern Greenland.
Survey of 53 gut‐skin parkas collected from 1846–1945, belonging to the Nunatta Katersugaasivia Allagaateqarfialu and the National Museum of Denmark.
This study focuses on gut‐skin parkas with vertical strips, especially on garments with the most noticeable resemblance to the Nuulliit parkas (i.e., double hood roots and sleeve gussets), without regard to flaps at the lower front and back edges. Eight male gut‐skin parkas (from the 53 parkas) were selected for comparison: four Iñupiat specimens from Alaska and four Iivit pieces from eastern Greenland.
Eight Male Gut‐Skin Parkas
The Iñupiat parkas from Alaska, collected from 1926 to 1945, are made from translucent gut skin sewn in vertical panels 8–10 cm wide (Fig. 6). On the four Iñupiat gut‐skin parkas, the hood‐and‐shoulder yoke runs over the hood crown from one shoulder to the other. A set of pointed hood roots is placed at the front and back, positioned in the mid‐shoulder. Pointed gussets are inserted into the inner sleeve seam and the side seam. The edges at the hood opening, sleeve, and lower bottom are made from dehaired or haired sealskin straps. The lower edges at the front and back are straight. The gut strips are sewn with overcast stitches, 20–30 stitches per 10 cm. Two parkas, from northern Alaska (P32.256) and Point Hope (P32.6), have similar decorative seams topstitched in a running stitch with wool thread. Two other parkas from northern Alaska (P.6503) and Point Hope (P32.5) have identical patterns with a central gusset at the back, pointing down. The latter has a dog fur amulet at the back (described in the inventory protocol).
Four Iñupiat male gut‐skin parkas from Alaska, front and back:
a) Acquired in Alaska in connection with the Fifth Thule Expedition, 1921–1924, by Knud Rasmussen in 1926. NMD: P32.274.
b) Acquired, northern Alaska, Tikiġaq (Point Hope), in connection with the Fifth Thule Expedition, 1921–1924, by Knud Rasmussen in 1926. NMD: P32.6.
c) Acquired in northern Alaska in connection with the Danish‐American Alaska Expeditions, 1949–1950, by Helge Larsen in 1945. NMD: P.6503.
d) Acquired in northern Alaska, Tikiġaq, in connection with the Fifth Thule Expedition, 1921–1924, by Knud Rasmussen in 1926. NMD: P32.5.
Photos from the National Museum of Denmark, Roberto Fortuna.
Likewise, four male parkas from the Iivit in eastern Greenland, collected from 1846 to 1884, have a similar cut with pointed hood roots at the front and back. The material is made from opaque gut skin sewn in vertical strips 8–10 cm wide (Fig. 7). On the four Iivit parkas, double, pointed hood roots are inserted at the front and back in connection to the hood; some are decorated with triangles of dehaired sealskin. Pointed gussets are sewn to the inner side sleeve seam underneath. The hood opening, sleeve, and lower bottom edges are made from straps of dehaired sealskin, approximately 1.5 cm wide. The lower edges at the front and back are straight. The gut strips are sewn with overcast stitches at a rate of 20–30 stitches per 10 cm. A decorative seam is topstitched in a running stitch with dehaired sealskin strips on one parka (1418XLd.68.2).
Four Iivit male gut‐skin parkas from eastern Greenland, front and back:
a) Acquired in eastern Greenland by Carl Holbøll in 1846. NMD: Lc.220.
b) Acquired in eastern Greenland, Tasiilaq (Angmagssalik), by Carl. J. Ryberg in 1884. NMD: Ld.35.1.
c) Acquired in eastern Greenland, Tasiilaq, by Carl. J. Ryberg in 1884. NMD: Ld.34.
d) Acquired in eastern Greenland, Tasiilaq, by Gustav Holm in 1888. NKA: 1418XLd.68.2.
Photos from the National Museum of Denmark, Roberto Fortuna.
Three Parkas of Fur Skin—Male and Female
In addition to the gut‐skin parkas, the NMD Inuit collection has 270 parkas of fur or dehaired skin. Of these, 13 parkas (ten for men/boys, three for women) contain double, pointed hood roots (Schmidt et al. 2013:69) (see Appendix 2).
For the final comparison with the gut‐skin parkas, two fur parkas for men and one fur parka for women with pointed double hood roots were selected: A male parka of caribou (Kc.99) from Yupiget in Cape Dezhnev, Siberia; an Inuvialuit male parka of marmot (Hc.414), from Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories of Canada; and an Inupiat female parka of caribou (P.1334), from Koyukuk on the Yukon River, Alaska. The pointed hood roots are on the parkas’ front, not the back. All the parkas have sleeves added straight to the body with a decorated skin band. Pointed gussets are inserted in the inner sleeve seam but not into the side seam. The lower bottoms are different (Fig. 8).
Three fur‐skin parkas, front:
a) A Yupiget man’s caribou parka from Cape Dezhnev, Siberia. Acquired by Olrik in 1860. NMD: Kc.99.
b) An Inupiat women’s caribou parka, collected in Koyukuk, Yukon River, Alaska. Acquired by Frederica de Laguna’s expedition in 1935. NMD: P.1334.
c) An Inuvialuit men’s marmot parka from Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories of Canada. Acquired by R. W. Hobson, McClintock‐expedition in search of the Franklin Expedition in 1860. NMD: Hc.414. Photos from the National Museum of Denmark, Roberto Fortuna.
Figure 9 illustrates the common clothing elements of the eight gut‐skin parkas and the three fur parkas.
Common traits of ten male parkas and one female parka, dating from 1846–1945. Drawn from the front:
a) Iñupiat (Alaska) male gut‐skin parkas. Vertical strips containing 1) double hood roots inserted in the mid‐shoulders, 2) gussets under the sleeves, and 3) a hood‐and‐shoulder yoke running over the hood crown from one shoulder to the other. The lower bottom is cut straight.
b) Iivit (eastern Greenland) male gut‐skin parkas.
c) Yupiget (Bering Strait region) and Inuvialuit (Canadian Northwest Territories) male fur‐skin parkas with straight or slightly curved lower bottoms.
d) Inupiat (Alaska) female fur‐skin parka. The lower bottom has rounded flaps.
Methods
Identification of Clothing Elements and Sewing Techniques
From 2010 to 2011, the collection of Inuit skin clothing at the NMD was registered in a database during the research project “Skin Clothing from the North” from 2009 to 2014. A photographer documented the clothing from the front and back using scale‐true high‐definition digital photographs, including scale bars and color tests (Schmidt 2014). Conservators systematically tape‐measured the various garments, recorded the clothing elements, and assessed the animal species used and decorative components. The conservators also identified the sewing techniques and counted the number of stitches per 10 cm on various seams. In 2016, the NKA clothing collection was included in the systematic registration and photography in the database.1
This project used data from the database registration: photographs, clothing elements, measurements, sewing stitches, and other relevant aspects.
Measurement of Material Consumption
The Skin Clothing from the North project developed a new method for measuring skin clothing (i.e., parkas, trousers, and footwear) by recording individual clothing elements. Using a digital 3D probe (a Faro Arm Sterling, model 10‐02), the conservator registered rows of 3D coordinates along the seams in the clothing element without touching the delicate garment. The 3D coordinates were geometrically converted into precise 2D patterns, including area calculations or material consumption (in square meters). The 3D measurement technique is suitable for even, flexible garments with visible seams (e.g., made from short‐haired fur or dehaired skin) (Jensen et al. 2013).
Gut‐skin parkas are 3D measurable when the material is pliable and without folds. However, parkas made of inflexible, uneven, and folded skin cannot be measured. Therefore, the 3D technique for calculating material consumption in a recent study (Schmidt et al. in prep.), named Method 1, was compared with two other metric techniques. Method 2 uses simple geometric calculations by measuring the garment outlines with a few tape measures. This technique is not statistically valid for the calculation of the parka area. Method 3 calculates the area from numerous 2D coordinates following the outline of the garment in the digital photographs of the front and back, measured by a CAD‐CAM program. Statistically, Method 3 is valid for calculating the parka material consumption with a standard deviation of 3.7%. Multiplication of the area obtained by Method 3 by a factor of 1.174 provides the expected real value for material consumption of a parka (Schmidt et al. in prep.).
Results
The Identified Clothing Elements and Sewing Techniques
Table 2 lists clothing elements, sewing techniques, and material consumption of the three Nuulliit parkas dating from the 14th century AD and the 11 parkas from 1846–1945. The Nuulliit parka (L3.12893) stands alone regarding parka measurements; however, the three parkas have similar clothing elements (i.e., hood‐and‐shoulder yoke, triangular throat piece, double hood roots at front and back, gussets in the sleeve and side seam, shoulder strip, and large curved flaps at the front and back). The seams are sewn with sinew in overcast stitches; one parka is also stitched with running stitches. The stitch densities are 25–40 stitches per 10 cm. When present, the hood opening, sleeves, and lower bottom are trimmed with depilated seal or gut skin.
Survey of studied parkas from Nuulliit, Siberia, Alaska, Canadian Northwest Territories, and Greenland.
The 11 parkas from 1846–1945 consist of eight garments of gut skin and three of fur skin. The four Alaskan gut‐skin parkas (P32.5, P32.6, P32.274, P.6503), like the Nuulliit parkas, have a hood‐and‐shoulder yoke running over the crown, which is absent from the four parkas from eastern Greenland (Lc.220, Ld.35.1, Ld.34, 1418Xld.68.2). Further, two Alaskan parkas have a triangular throat piece (P32.6, P.6503), though somewhat smaller than in the Nuulliit parkas. All eight gut‐skin parkas have double hood roots at the front and back. Also, pointed gussets are inserted at the inner sleeve seam, and the lower bottom is cut straight. The gut‐skin sewing is made with running stitches in the Alaskan parkas, with 20 to 40 stitches per 10 cm. In eastern Greenland, the parka seams are mainly made with overcast stitches placed 25 to 50 per 10 cm, like the Nuulliit parkas. Seven gut‐skin parkas have trimmings at the hood edgings, sleeves, and lower bottoms of depilated seal skin; one (P32.6) is trimmed with seal fur skin.
The three fur parkas from Siberia, Alaska, and the Northwest Territories (Kc.99, Hc.414, P.1334) contain double hood roots at the front and pointed gussets in the sleeves. Thereto, one male parka has a square throat piece and a straight‐cut lower bottom (Kc.99), while the lower bottom is slightly curved in the other male parka (Hc.414). The female parka (P.1334) has double hood roots at the front and back and large curved front and back flaps. Overcast stitching counts were from 25 to 50 stitches per 10 cm in the fur‐skin parkas. They are trimmed with strips of fur skin.
The Measured Material Consumption
A CAD‐CAM program drew the outlines of the garment on the front and back digital photographs and calculated the areas. The summed area was multiplied by a factor of 1.174 to obtain the expected real value. The Nuulliit parka (L3.12893), measurable from Holtved’s drawing, was calculated to be 1.403 square meters (Fig. 10). One fur‐skin parka was too folded to be CAD‐CAM measured. It was measured employing 3D measurement techniques (see Table 2).
Above, the area of L3.12893, gut‐skin parka from Nuulliit, is documented in Holtved’s drawing with the scale bar. By means of a CAD‐CAM program, the outlines of the clothing elements at the parka’s front and back are 2D recorded at numerous points. The calculated areas of the elements, except the hood opening, are multiplied by the factor 1.174, providing the expected real value for material consumption. Drawing after Holtved (1954:82–83). CAD‐CAM recording by Karsten Jensen.
Figure 11 shows the material consumption in relation to the back length of the best‐preserved Nuulliit parka (L3.12893) and the 11 comparative parkas from 1846–1945. The measurements (performed in 2D and correlated) are merged into a recent study of material consumption of 32 Inuit parkas, measured in 3D (Schmidt et al. in prep.). In the previous study, 16 Inuit male parkas (red markings) from Asia (i.e., the Bering Strait region), Alaska, Arctic Canada, and Greenland differ from 16 female parkas. Most male parkas underneath the median line show shorter back lengths and have material consumption of approximately 1.1–1.7 m2. Women’s parkas from Alaska and Arctic Canada (blue markings) have longer back lengths and material consumption of approximately 1.3–2.0 m2. Consequently, they differ from Greenlandic female parkas (green markings), with short back lengths and material consumption of approximately 0.7–1.2 m2.
Survey of material consumption and back length in female and male Inuit parkas. Of 42 parkas (one undefined gender, 17 female and 24 male), two female and 22 male parkas are found below the median line due to their shorter back lengths. Above the median line, 15 female and two male parkas with longer back lengths are found. The female Greenlandic parkas show minor material consumption compared to female parkas from Alaska and Arctic Canada. In this study, four male gut‐skin parkas from eastern Greenland (Lc.220, Ld.34, Ld.35.1., 1418XLd.68.2) and one male Alaskan parka (P32.6) show 1.0–1.3 square meters of material consumption. Three male Alaskan parkas (P32.271, P32.5, P.6503) have a material consumption of 1.4–1.8 square meters. The Nuulliit gut‐skin parka (L3.12893) shows 1.4 square meters, like two female fur‐skin parkas of 1.2–1.3 square meters. Illustration merged with Schmidt et al. in prep. Figure by Karsten Jensen.
In this study, seven male gut‐skin parkas (Lc.220, Ld.34, Ld.35.1, 1418XLd.68.2, P32.5, P32.6, P.6501) (red markings) and one male fur‐skin parka (Kc.99) (red markings) are positioned beneath the median line, within the major group of previously studied male Inuit parkas in Figure 11. One Alaskan gut‐skin parka (P32.274) and one fur‐skin parka (Hc.414) are positioned near or at the median line (red markings). The Nuulliit parka (L3.12893) (pink marking) is positioned above the median line in the vicinity of the Alaskan female fur‐skin parka (P.1334) (blue marking) and previously studied female fur‐skin parka from North America (blue marking).
Comparison and Discussion
In general, the traditional Inuit fur‐skin parka in Siberia, North America, and Greenland until the 20th century was constructed from three elements: hood, sleeves, and body. All outer edges were strengthened with sewn skin strips of fur or dehaired skin (i.e., around the hood opening, sleeve endings, and lower bottom). Depending on the gender and region, men’s parkas most often had a straight‐cut lower bottom, while women’s parkas usually had rounded flaps at the front and back. However, in some areas in Arctic Canada, men’s parkas also had large back flaps, while in northern and eastern Greenland, men’s parkas could have diminutive flaps. Women’s parkas (so‐called amaat) for carrying small children had a roomy integrated back and hood (Hatt [1914]1969; Issenman 1997a).
Characteristic elements anchored the hood to the body: either a single hood root under the throat or pointed double hood roots at the front, the latter occasionally at the back. The double hood roots could be sewn directly to the hood or inserted in the middle of the shoulders. It probably functioned as a gusset that gave extra flexibility and, simultaneously, for symbolic purposes. However, the hood could also be attached directly to the front and back without roots. The hood‐and‐shoulder yoke may have been an easy way to construct the hood when working with gut strips. In 1947, Holtved identified the hood‐and‐shoulder yoke in contemporary male Inughuit fur parkas from Arctic foxes (Holtved 1954:105). In the NMD collection, two male Inughuit parkas (L.20932, L.95493) are provided with a hood‐and‐shoulder yoke. Otherwise, the element is exclusively found in the Nuulliit and Alaskan gut‐skin parkas. Together with the position of the hood roots at the mid‐shoulders, it gives evidence of the then‐migrating Inuit from the west to Greenland. The presence of gussets inserted into the inner seam of the sleeve was characteristic of some regions. Other distinctive traits were the complex constructions of the so‐called five‐branched back in female parkas from western Greenland (Bahnson 2005:89; Hatt [1914]1969; Issenman 1997a).
Corresponding Archaeological Garment Finds from the Thule Period
The skin clothing preserved from the Thule Period is often associated with mummified bodies. With the gender identified, the clothing cut could present an extra clue to gender identification—for example, a visible characteristic of the Inuit female parka (e.g., long rounded flaps at the lower front and back edges or vice versa). Without human remains, the Nuulliit parkas encourage looking for similarities in parallel finds.
In 1934, at Qerrortût, in the caves at the island Uunartoq near Nanortalik in southwestern Greenland, Danish archaeologist Therkel Mathiassen (1892–1967) found among several bodies a small child dressed in a hooded parka of gut skin and another child in a bird‐skin parka. Based on contextual objects, Mathiassen dated the Uunartoq mummies to the 16th century (Mathiassen 1936:103–113). These finds, belonging to the NKA, are presently preserved at the Panum Institute, Copenhagen. Today, the whereabouts of the gut‐skin parka remains unknown.
Discovered in 1972 at Qilakitsoq near Uummannaq by the Kalaallit hunters Hans and Jokum Grønvold and retrieved in 1978, eight mummified bodies (six women, two children) dressed in well‐preserved fur‐skin clothing from seal, reindeer, and bird (Hart Hansen and Gulløv 1989). The well‐documented and important find, containing several extra pieces of skin clothing, was radiocarbon dated to AD 1470 (Tauber 1989:137–138). The female bodies were dressed in hooded parkas, albeit with a single hood root, but with long, narrow front and back flaps (Møller 1989:23–46). The Qilakitsoq finds are exhibited at the NKA.
The find of seven fragmented parkas of gut skin from Skraeling Island off Ellesmere Island, Nunavut Territory, Canada, was radiocarbon dated to the late AD 1200 or early AD 1300 (McCullough 1989:300). Issenman (Issenman 1997a:18–19) identified a design comparable to parkas from the 19th and 20th centuries. One parka had vertical strips of gut skin sewn with sinew. It was bordered with fur trim at the hood, a hood‐and‐shoulder yoke running from one shoulder over the hood to the other, and had pointed hood root extensions (Issenman 1997a:18–19; McCullough 1989:196–197, 199).
At Utqiaġvik (formerly Barrow) Archaeological Site in northern Alaska, the excavation from 1981 to 1983 of, among thousands of artifacts, a well‐preserved parka of skin with fur found together with female human remains revealed a close connection to traditional Kakligmiut clothing of this region. The finds were dated to roughly AD 1530, using thermoluminescence tests of ceramics. The female outer parka was made from caribou calfskin where “the hood . . . is anchored to the main body by ‘roots’ or tusk‐like extensions” (Issenman 1997a:24). The parka had long, rounded flaps at the front and back. Distinct gussets were present on the underside of the sleeves (Issenman 1997a:24–25).
Figure 12 shows the locations of the above‐mentioned archaeological Thule Period clothing finds, the Nuulliit site, and the studied parkas from 1846–1945 from NMD and NKA.
Map of the locations from where the studied parkas originate. Red dots: Archaeological Thule Period, dating from the 12th–16th century AD. Blue dot: The Nuulliit Site, dating from the 14th century AD. Green dots: Gut‐skin and fur parkas, dating from 1846–1945. Drawing by Nuka Konrad Godtfredsen.
Male and Female Parka Traditions
According to Holtved (1954:103), the large flaps on the front and back of the best preserved Nuulliit parka, L3.12893, suggest that this parka “had not been meant for kayak use.” The rounded flaps may indicate a female garment. However, it was not unlikely that this shape was worn by men, even though all gut‐skin parkas for men in the NMD collection had a straight‐cut lower edge (Holtved 1954:103). Holtved (1954:104) further suggests that the Nuulliit gut‐skin parka with long flaps was initially used in umiaks (large open boats) long before the gut‐skin parka for kayaking was developed. Arriving from the west, the migrating Thule Inuit used the umiak for traveling and whale hunting (Gulløv 2004:201). At sea, in the umiak, a gut‐skin parka with long flaps makes good sense for keeping the lower body dry. Bearing that the umiak (or women’s boat) for transport was often rowed by women (Egede 1741:62), the gender of the Nuulliit parka may likely point in the female direction.
In the early 18th century, it was described that the men wore the gut‐skin parka underneath their outer garment. Also, some male skin parkas had rounded flaps at the front and back (Egede 1741:72). A tight‐fitting hood was used in male parkas, while a large hood integrated with the back indicated the women’s amaat. The male design is illustrated in the Portrait of Pooq and Qiperoq, 1724, two Kalaallit men from western Greenland. The men are dressed for hunting in dehaired skin parkas with front flaps and more extended back flaps. The close‐fitting hood is anchored with the so‐called single hood root, customary in Greenland (Hatt [1914]1969:106).4 In 1753, the Norwegian painter Mathias Blumenthal (ca. 1719–1763) copied his original 1747 painting of Maria of Paamiut, a Kalaallit woman from southern Greenland with an extraordinarily long, tailored skin parka with a flap.5 This garment was not of the original Kalaallit design but adapted to the moral concept of the Christian mission (Bahnson 2003). Both paintings are exhibited at the NMD.
Two hundred years earlier, in 1577, the English painter John White (ca. 1539–1593) illustrated an Inuit couple from Baffinland in the eastern Canadian Arctic with different hood constructions: A man dressed in a fur parka with a single hood root and slightly curved lower edging. The woman wears an amaat, sewn with double hood roots connected to the hood and equipped with a small front flap and a large back flap. This important drawing belongs to the Pitt Rivers Museum.
Gender and Material Consumption
Adult parka sizes and heights vary by gender, thus in the material used for construction. The height differences between women and men are known well. The eight male gut‐skin parkas from 1846–1945 had short back lengths with no flaps. They were probably all used for kayaking. The Alaskan parkas measured 98–111 cm, while parkas from eastern Greenland were 81–85 cm long. The wrist‐to‐wrist lengths were 133–175 cm. Presumably, the parka back lengths reflect the differences in kayak construction in Alaska and Greenland. Judging by their translucent material, the four Alaskan parkas were made of gut skin that was prepared in the summer, while the opaque East Greenlandic parkas were made of gut skin that was prepared in the winter.
The two male fur parkas (Kc.99, Hc.414) measured 113 cm in back length, and the material consumption was 1.4–1.7 m2. This is close to the standard area for male fur parkas from North American Inuit (1.1–1.6 m2) (Schmidt 2014:286).
The female fur parka (P.1334) (back length 122 cm, material consumption 1.2 m2) is smaller than usual for North American Inuit women, who used up to approximately 1.9 m2 for a parka (Schmidt 2014:286). Of the garments compared, P.1334 showed traits like the Nuulliit gut‐skin parka in terms of dimensions and preserved garment elements. This similarity leads to the question: was the Nuulliit garment a parka for men or women? Considering the material consumption (1.4 m2), the back length (131 cm), and the wrist‐to‐wrist length (130 cm), it is still not apparent whether the Nuulliit parka was made for a man or a woman. However, the before‐mentioned female fur‐skin parka dating from the 14th century in northern Alaska, comparable to the Kakligmiut tradition, had flaps, hood roots, sleeve gussets, and a tightfitting hood like the Nuulliit parka.
In the Bering Strait region and Alaska, men and women wore parkas of the same pattern over the regular clothing in the summer “when it rains or when the wearer is working in the boats” (Murdoch 1892:122). These parkas were made from seal and walrus gut, sewn vertically together, and resembled a man’s parka (i.e., with a straight‐cut bottom). The observation suggests that gut‐skin parka makers from Nuulliit in the 14th century AD used the same design for men and women. Could this scenario be a suitable explanation for the Nuulliit parka—a garment with flaps used by both genders? The large flaps were a practical device for both genders as they protected the wearer from getting wet and cool on land or at sea.
Holtved compared the Nuulliit parkas with gut‐skin parkas from the NMD collection and found certain traits like this study (Holtved 1954:103–105). However, he did not identify the Nuulliit garments as women’s clothing made for sailing in an umiak.
An Interpretation of the Double Hood Roots
Fur‐skin parkas with “pointed throat pieces” were not found east of Anderson River in the Northwest Territories (Murdoch 1892:120). Hatt identified the presence of “double hood roots” (Hatt [1914]1969:38) as a western Inuit trait, together with the sleeve gusset. Double hood roots were found in male and female fur‐skin parkas, but sleeve gussets were sometimes lacking in female parkas; presumably, men’s work implied more vigorous movements than women’s (Hatt [1914]1969:39, 49, 106). The double hood roots’ construction allowed for flexibility and possibly strengthened the gut skin’s relatively fragile nature by the extra seams. The gut‐skin parkas from Nuulliit confirm that the number of seams is significant for how much of the garment is preserved. The more seams, the more gut skin is kept (e.g., in L3.12893 compared to L3.12894 and L3.12.895). Regarding gut‐skin parkas with vertical strips, Hatt ([1914]1969:52–54) recognized the double hood roots in male parkas from Alaska, Labrador, and western and eastern Greenlandic male parkas; the sleeve gussets, extended into the side seams, were present in Alaskan and eastern Greenlandic gut‐skin parkas.
The terms “walrus‐tusk imitations” or “tusk‐like” hood roots appear presumably for the first time in Inua Spirit World of the Bering Sea Eskimo in 1982 (Fitzhugh and Kaplan 1982:186). Later, in Crossroads of Continents (Fitzhugh and Crowell 1988) (e.g., Chaussonnet 1988:216; Rousselot et al. 1988:166–167, Fig. 350), a wooden figurine signifies the importance of the walrus among the Bering Sea Inuit. The so‐called Walrus‐Man with up‐raised arms has walrus tusks and wears a gut‐skin parka, maybe suggesting an Alaskan figure, Kikamigo, connected to hunters and sea mammals, or resembling Keretkun, a Siberian Chukchee Master of the Sea, who had a special connection to the walrus. The figurine illustrates the close human‐animal relations in the cosmology of the Inuit world (Fienup‐Riordan 1988:258). Later literature used walrus attribution to the hood roots (e.g., Issenman 1997a; Schmidt 2014; Schmidt et al. 2013).
The walrus was a significant component of Inuit sea‐mammal hunting in and outside Avanersuaq, northern Greenland. The double hood roots in the Nuulliit parkas suggest a cosmological interpretation (Gotfredsen et al. 2018:205). The eastern Greenlandic parka design with double hood roots, “recognizing the similar design manifested on the 14th‐century gut‐skin Nuulliit parkas . . . have historical roots back to the earliest Inuit societies in Greenland and Alaska” (Gotfredsen et al. 2018:205).
Conclusion
This study reveals that the Inuit used the gut‐skin parka—in an unchanged pattern and design—for at least 550 years. The study identified recurring characteristics: pointed, double hood roots, gussets in sleeve and inner seam, occasionally hood‐and‐shoulder yokes, different sewing techniques, and edging of hood openings, sleeves, and lower bottoms, as well as the magnitude of material consumption. The analyses suggested that a consistent clothing tradition was preserved for a long time in regions with large distances between them: Alaska and eastern Greenland. Since the emigration of the Thule Inuit from the Bering Strait region to Greenland in the 12th century AD, the eye‐catching, significant elements of the gut‐skin parka have been preserved until the 20th century, presumably without continuous contact between the populations.
The consistency of cutting and sewing indicates that a resilient uniform Inuit clothing tradition was passed down through generations of women who taught their daughters to make durable clothing from animal materials suitable for specific purposes. For waterproof parkas, for example, they used gut skin.
The amount of material used to sew the Nuulliit parka may point to it being a female garment. Furthermore, given the practical cut with flaps and the waterproofness of the gut, there is much to suggest that this is a garment most likely worn by a female rower when exposed to wet weather in an umiak or women’s boat.
Lastly, the resemblance of hood roots to walrus tusks is evident. The parka’s visual design may be linked to Inuit cosmology.
List of Appendices
Appendix 1. Survey of 56 gut‐skin parkas
Appendix 2. Survey of 11 fur parkas with double hood roots
Acknowledgments
Firstly, the author sincerely recognizes and appreciates the material cultural heritage that the Inuit created in Siberia, North America, and Greenland. Generations of Inuit women prepared the skin and cut and sewed the outstanding garments that made life possible in the coldest regions of the earth. Inuit skin clothing shows that the native animal skins were utilized efficiently, using the skin’s unique properties sustainably in the sense that all applicable skins were used. With the accessible and well‐preserved collections at the NKA and NMD, this study has been possible.
Thank you to Aviâja Rosing Jakobsen (Nunatta Katersugaasivia Allagaateqarfialu) for her constant commitment and comments on the research. I thank Peter Rasmussen, Eva Bøje Nielsen, Bjarne Grønnow, and Martin Appelt (the National Museum of Denmark) for their eager questions and engagement in the research. Karsten Jensen is thanked for the calculations of material consumption and illustrations. Preben Dybdahl Thomsen (University of Copenhagen) is thanked for his information.
The author sincerely thanks Jane Richter, Beate Knuth Federspiel (Royal Danish Academy, School of Conservation), and Kristoffer Schmidt (Museum Nordsjælland) for their much‐appreciated, constant, enthusiastic commitment. Lise Stengaard Hansen is thanked for revising the English language.
Finally but not least important, the text has been genuinely enhanced through two anonymous peer reviews. I am sincerely grateful for the insightful questions, remarks, and references, which have improved the content immensely.
Footnotes
↵1. The collections of skin clothing are accessible at the website https://skinddragter.natmus.dk/?Language=0.
↵2. For details, see https://skinddragter.natmus.dk/Clothing/Details/455.
↵3. For details, see https://skinddragter.natmus.dk/Clothing/Details/91.
This open access article is distributed under the terms of the CC‐BY‐NC‐ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) and is freely available online at: http://aa.uwpress.org
In this issue
Jump to section
Related Articles
Cited By...
- No citing articles found.