Inuit Kayak

Timeline

1. c. 1100–1170Coasts of Baffin Bay · NunavutThule culture hunters carried kayak technology eastward to the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and Greenland, building single-person boats only a few meters long yet wave-resistant, using driftwood or whalebone for ribs and seal skin for the hull.
2. c. 1171–1180Inuit settlements of western Greenland · GreenlandIn the 1170s, Inuit hunters pursued seals and seabirds through gaps in the pack ice in kayaks equipped with harpoons and floats; kayaks were also used for coastal communication between settlements, serving as a dual pillar of Arctic sea transport and food acquisition.
3. c. 1175–1500Alaskan Arctic coast · AlaskaDifferent kayak forms evolved across Arctic regions due to varying sea conditions and prey—western Greenland boats were broader and more stable, Alaskan boats narrower and longer—but the wood-frame and animal-hide structure and kneeling paddling technique remained continuous.