ARCTIC

northernmost region of the Earth, centred on the North Pole and characterized by distinctively polar conditions of climate, plant and animal life, and other physical features. The term is derived from the Greek arktos (bear), referring to the northern constellation of the Bear. It has sometimes been used to designate the area within the Arctic Circlea mathematical line that is drawn at latitude 6630 N, marking the southern limit of the zone in which there is at least one annual period of 24 hours during which the sun does not set and one during which it does not rise. This line, however, is without value as a geographic boundary, since it is not keyed to the nature of the terrain. While no dividing line is completely definitive, a generally useful guide is the irregular line marking the northernmost limit of the stands of trees. The regions north of the tree line include Greenland (Kalaallit Nunaat), Svalbard, and other polar islands; the northern parts of the mainlands of Siberia, Alaska, and Canada; the coasts of Labrador; the north of Iceland; and a strip of the Arctic coast of Europe. The last-named area, however, is classified as subarctic because of other factors. Conditions typical of Arctic lands are extreme fluctuations between summer and winter temperatures; permanent snow and ice in the high country and grasses, sedges, and low shrubs in the lowlands; and permanently frozen ground (permafrost), the surface layer of which is subject to summer thawing. Three-fifths of the Arctic terrain is outside the zones of permanent ice. The brevity of the Arctic summer is partly compensated by the long daily duration of summer sunshine. International interest in the Arctic and subarctic regions has steadily increased during the 20th century, particularly since World War II. Three major factors are involved: the advantages of the North Pole route as a shortcut between important centres of population, the growing realization of economic potentialities such as mineral (especially petroleum) and forest resources and grazing areas, and the importance of the regions in the study of global meteorology. northernmost region of the Earth, centred on the North Pole and characterized by distinctively polar conditions of plant life, climate, and so on. Unlike the Antarctic continent, which is surrounded by ocean, the Arctic is composed largely of an ocean basin that is almost completely surrounded by continents. Included in the Arctic region are the northern reaches of Canada, Alaska, Russia, Norway, the Atlantic Ocean, Svalbard, most of Iceland, Greenland, and the Bering Sea. The region is not coextensive with the area enclosed by the Arctic Circlea line drawn at about 6630 N, marking the southern limit of the zone in which there is at least one annual 24-hour period during which the Sun does not set and one during which it does not rise. A more useful line to mark the Arctic's southern boundary might be the northernmost tree line on the continents, but no universally agreed boundary exists. Additional reading General works Appealing, broad, and beautifully illustrated surveys of the region are offered in Fred Bruemmer et al., The Arctic World (1985), a descriptive work; and Steven B. Young, To the Arctic: An Introduction to the Far Northern World (1989), a more scholarly guide focusing on natural history. State-of-the-art writing on all aspects of arctic research, of various levels of sophistication, is found in such periodicals as Arctic (quarterly), a journal of the Arctic Institute of North America; Arctic Science, Engineering, and Education Awards (annual), published by the National Science Foundation of the United States; and Polar Record (quarterly). See also The Arctic Ocean, a separate issue of the quarterly Oceanus, vol. 29, no.1 (Spring 1986). Ned Allen Ostenso The land David Sugden, Arctic and Antarctic: A Modern Geographical Synthesis (1982), offers a general introduction to the geography of the polar lands. Axel Somme (ed.), A Geography of Norden: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, new ed. (1968), is a broad regional geography; and a particular region is studied in Clyde Wahrhaftig, Physiographic Divisions of Alaska (1965); and Howel Williams (ed.), Landscapes of Alaska: Their Geologic Evolution (1958).For relief and geology, see R.J. Fulton (ed.), Quaternary Geology of Canada and Greenland (1989), with relevant chapters discussing the ice-free areas and inland ice of Greenland, and the characteristics of the Queen Elizabeth Islands; William L. Graf (ed.), Geomorphic Systems of North America (1987), studying the landforms of northern countries, including the Arctic Lowlands of Canada and Alaska; and A.A. Velichko, H.E. Wright, Jr., and C.W. Barnosky (eds.), Late Quaternary Environments of the Soviet Union, trans. from Russian (1984), with relevant regional information scattered in several chapters. Soils, drainage, and glaciation are discussed in J. Ross Mackay, The World of Underground Ice, Annals of the Association of American Geographers 62(1):122 (March 1972); Peter J. Williams and Michael W. Smith, The Frozen Earth (1989); H.M. French, The Periglacial Environment (1976); and Jack D. Ives and Roger G. Barry (eds.), Arctic and Alpine Environments (1974), examining physical environments, the biota, man's reaction to and impact on them, and the northern climates. For more of climatic data on the Arctic, see S. Orvig (ed.), Climates of the Polar Regions (1970); and Jean M. Grove, The Little Ice Age (1988).Barry Lopez, Arctic Dreams: Imagination and Desire in a Northern Landscape (1986), is an accurate though imaginative survey of natural history. Bryan Sage et al., The Arctic & Its Wildlife (1986), presents a well-illustrated survey of the environment. Nicholas Polunin, Introduction to Plant Geography and Some Related Sciences (1960), includes a chapter on plant life in cold climates. See also M.J. Dunbar, Ecological Development in Polar Regions: A Study in Evolution (1968); Bernard Stonehouse, Animals of the Arctic: The Ecology of the Far North (1971); Fred Bruemmer, Arctic Animals: A Celebration of Survival (1987); and Rita A. Horner (ed.), Sea Ice Biota (1985). J. Brian Bird Maxwell John Dunbar The people Nelson H.H. Graburn and B. Stephen Strong, Circumpolar Peoples: An Anthropological Perspective (1973), provides a good general introduction. William W. Fitzhugh and Aron Crowell (eds.), Crossroads of Continents: Cultures of Siberia and Alaska (1988), is a beautifully illustrated exhibition volume on peoples and customs on both sides of the Bering Strait. Useful collections of articles of diverse relevant topics include Gsta Berg (ed.), Circumpolar Problems: Habitat, Economy, and Social Relations in the Arctic (1973); R.St.J. Macdonald (ed.), The Arctic Frontier (1966); and Ludger Mller-Wille et al. (eds.), Consequences of Economic Change in Circumpolar Regions (1978). Political struggles of northern indigenous minorities are discussed in Noel Dyck (ed.), Indigenous Peoples and the Nation-State: Fourth World' Politics in Canada, Australia, and Norway (1985); and Jens Brsted et al. (eds.), Native Power: The Quest for Autonomy and Nationhood of Indigenous Peoples (1985).Two early classics of circumpolar anthropology are A. Irving Hallowell, Bear Ceremonialism in the Northern Hemisphere, American Anthropologist, new series, 28(1):1175 (1926); and Waldemar Bogoras, Elements of the Culture of the Circumpolar Zone, American Anthropologist, new series, 31(4):579601 (1929). Gutorm Gjessing, Circumpolar Stone Age (1944), is a concise archaeological study. Later anthropological research includes Kwang Chih Chang, A Typology of Settlement and Community Patterns in Some Circumpolar Societies, Arctic Anthropology 1(1):2841 (1962); Kerstin Eidlitz Kuoljok, Food and Emergency Food in the Circumpolar Area (1969); and David Riches, Northern Nomadic Hunter-Gatherers: A Humanistic Approach (1982), a rather technical comparative analysis of subsistence, territoriality, leadership, and social change in northern circumpolar societies. On the reindeer/caribou economies and the transition between hunting and pastoralism, see ke Hultkrantz and rnulf Vorren (eds.), The Hunters: Their Culture and Way of Life (1982); and Tim Ingold, Hunters, Pastoralists, and Ranchers: Reindeer Economies and Their Transformations (1980). Eastern Arctic cultures The standard and most comprehensive survey of the peoples and cultures of northern Siberia is M.G. Levin and L.P. Potapov (eds.), The Peoples of Siberia (1964; originally published in Russian, 1956); Ronald Wixman, The Peoples of the USSR: An Ethnographic Handbook (1984), offers a comprehensive directory of all minority peoples of the U.S.S.R., with data for each on ethnic origin, language, population, religion, and location. M.A. Czaplicka, Aboriginal Siberia: A Study in Social Anthropology (1914, reprinted 1969), is a four-part overview of ethnogeography, sociology, religion, and pathology, informative though somewhat dated.There are many studies of particular cultures. Useful introductory surveys on the Sami include rnulf Vorren and Ernst Manker, Lapp Life and Customs (1962; originally published in Norwegian, 1957); Israel Ruong, The Lapps in Sweden, trans. from Swedish (1967); and Karl Nickul, The Lappish Nation: Citizens of Four Countries (1977). Eino Siuruainen and Pekka Aikio, The Lapps in Finland: The Population, Their Livelihood, and Their Culture (1977); and Hugh Beach, The Saami of Lapland (1988), are short reviews with a focus on contemporary issues. Specific Sami groups are studied in Tim Ingold, The Skolt Lapps Today (1976); Ian Whitaker, Social Relations in a Nomadic Lappish Community (1955); and Hugh Beach, Reindeer-Herd Management in Transition: The Case of Tuorpon Saameby in Northern Sweden (1981).Much less is available on Siberian indigenous peoples. On the Chukchi, there is a classic masterpiece of early ethnography, Waldemar Bogoras, The Chukchee, 4 vol. (19041909, reprinted in 1 vol., 1975). The same author also wrote on the Yupik: The Eskimo of Siberia (1913, reprinted 1975). Waldemar Jochelson, The Koryak (1908, reprinted 1975), The Yukaghir and the Yukaghirized Tungus (1926, reprinted 1975), and The Yakut (1933), are equally fine works from the same period of scholarship. On the Yakut, see also the classic study of A.P. Okladnikov, Yakutia Before Its Incorporation into the Russian State (1970, originally published in Russian, 2nd ed., 1955). On the Evenk. there are two magnificent ethnographic works, S.M. Shirokogoroff, Social Organization of the Northern Tungus (1929, reprinted 1979), and Psychomental Complex of the Tungus (1935, reprinted 1980). On the Nenets, see Pter Hajd, The Samoyed Peoples and Languages, 2nd rev. ed., trans. from Hungarian (1968); on the Nganasan, A.A. Popov, The Nganasan: The Material Culture of the Tavgi Samoyeds (1966; originally published in Russian, 1948); and on the Selkups, Kai Donner, Among the Samoyeds in Siberia (1954; originally published in Swedish, 1915).Special focus on physical anthropology is provided in Henry N. Michael (ed.), Studies in Siberian Ethnogenesis (1962); and M.G. Levin, Ethnic Origins of the Peoples of Northeastern Asia, ed. by Henry N. Michael (1963). Religious traditions of the northern peoples are explored in Vilmos Diszegi (ed.), Popular Beliefs and Folklore Tradition in Siberia, trans. from Hungarian (1968); Henry N. Michael (ed.), Studies in Siberian Shamanism (1963); and Mihly Hoppl (ed.), Shamanism in Eurasia, 2 vol. (1984). Tim Ingold Western Arctic cultures David Damas (ed.), Arctic (1984), from the Handbook of North American Indians series, is by far the single most important and comprehensive source, with more than 50 articles covering environment, prehistory, physique, language, and the ethnography of specific groups from Greenland to the far western Aleutian Islands and Siberia. William S. Laughlin and Albert B. Harper (eds.), The First Americans: Origins, Affinities, and Adaptations (1979), explores physical anthropology of American Indians, with a heavy focus on Arctic peoples, including Eskimo and Aleuts. Robert McGhee, Canadian Arctic Prehistory (1978), presents the earliest history of the Canadian Eskimo and discusses several possible pathways of prehistoric development. J. Louis Giddings, Ancient Men of the Arctic (1967, reissued 1985), is an archaeological study of the major progression of prehistoric cultures in the Bering Strait region. Don E. Dumond, The Eskimos and Aleuts, rev. ed. (1987), is a later synthesis of the archaeology and prehistory of all Eskimo and Aleuts, more technical than Giddings. Kaj Birket-Smith, Eskimos, trans. from Danish, rev. ed. (1971), offers a wide-ranging summary of characteristics of the Eskimo (not Aleut) peoples generally, including religion, though the chapter on origins is out of date. Wendell H. Oswalt, Eskimos and Explorers (1979), recounts the earliest known contacts with Eskimo groups by Europeans, from Greenland to western Alaska, excluding the Aleutian Islands and Siberia, and provides fairly standard, if sometimes arguable, early population estimates.Diamond Jenness, Eskimo Administration, 5 vol. (196268), comprehensively summarizes government relationships with Eskimo peoples throughout the region since the first contact. Michael E. Krauss, Eskimo-Aleut, pp. 796902, in William Bright et al. (eds.), Linguistics in North America, vol. 2 (1973), outlines the language family and its internal relationships, and the same author's Alaska Native Languages: Past, Present, and Future (1980), summarizes the contemporary position of the native languages and includes remarks on the Eskimo languages in Siberia. Robert Fortuine, Chills and Fever: Health and Disease in the Early History of Alaska (1989), is an examination of the health of Alaskan natives, including Eskimo, before and after contact with Europeans. Ernest S. Burch, Jr., The Eskimos (1988), is a general survey of life, illustrated with striking photographs of art and artifacts. Dorothy Jean Ray, Eskimo Art: Tradition and Innovation in North Alaska (1977), and Aleut and Eskimo Art: Tradition and Innovation in South Alaska (1981), provide a comprehensive treatment of traditional and later art. George Swinton, Sculpture of the Eskimo (1972), describes the development of modern Eskimo soapstone sculpture in Canada.Discussions of particular native groups include Diamond Jenness, The People of the Twilight (1928, reissued 1959), an account of an ethnographer's experiences with Copper Eskimo in the early 20th century; Norman A. Chance, The Iupiat and Arctic Alaska: An Ethnography of Development (1990), an ethnographer's examination of the people, with the analysis of the growing institutional and other pressures associated with modernization during the 1950s through the '80s; Richard K. Nelson, Hunters of the Northern Ice (1969), a description of ocean-edge subsistence practices of the Inupiat of Wainwright, Alaska, in both winter and summer; Jean L. Briggs, Never in Anger: Portrait of an Eskimo Family (1970), an account of experience and emotional life among a little-contacted group of Netsilik (Central Eskimo) in the 1960s; William W. Fitzhugh et al., Inua: Spirit World of the Bering Sea Eskimo (1982), published as an exhibition catalog, the significant text discussing the people with close attention to their material culture; Lydia T. Black, Atka: An Ethnohistory of the Western Aleutians (1984), a work on the people of the little-known western Aleutian Islands, drawing heavily on Russian sources; William S. Laughlin, Aleuts, Survivors of the Bering Land Bridge (1980), a concise anthropological work; R.G. Liapunova, Aleuty: ocherki etnicheskoi istorii (1987), a comprehensive account of Aleut culture and ethnohistory; Jean Malaurie, The Last Kings of Thule: With the Polar Eskimos, as They Face Their Destiny (1982; originally published in French, 1955), a first-person account of an ethnographer's experiences with the Thule Eskimo of northern Greenland, bringing their life into the modern world; and Wendell H. Oswalt, Bashful No Longer: An Alaskan Eskimo Ethnohistory, 17781988 (1990), a study of the Kuskokwim River region Eskimos of Alaska. Don E. Dumond The economy National Foreign Assessment Center, Polar Regions Atlas (1978), offers useful information for understanding the economic and strategic importance of the region. Patrick D. Baird, The Polar World (1964, reissued 1971), is a broad physical and economic geography; as is the later work by Terence Armstrong, George Rogers, and Graham Rowley, The Circumpolar North: A Political and Economic Geography of the Arctic and Sub-Arctic (1978). Thomas R. Berger, Northern Frontier, Northern Homeland: The Report of the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry, rev. ed. (1988), discusses the environmental and economic significance of the territory. Gail Osherenko and Oran R. Young, The Age of the Arctic: Hot Conflicts and Cold Realities (1989), merges the analysis of economic conditions and strategic politics. Robert Page, Northern Development: The Canadian Dilemma (1986), explores the social and economic problems of the Canadian north. Ben C. Gerwick (ed.), Arctic Ocean Engineering for the 21st Century (1985), collects papers on special engineering systems, transportation, management of natural and material resources, and environmental considerations. S.V. Slavin, The Soviet North: Present Development and Prospects (1972; originally published in Russian, 1972), is a concise textbook providing information on Soviet circumpolar industries. Thomas R. Berger, Village Journey: The Report of the Alaska Native Review Commission (1985), discusses land tenure problems and relevant government activities. Clive Archer and David Scrivener (eds.), Northern Waters: Security and Resource Issues (1986), links the questions of economic resources and international relations in the North Atlantic. Edgar Dosman (ed.), Sovereignty and Security in the Arctic (1989), examines international relations in view of strategic considerations; as does Walter Goldstein (ed.), Clash in the North: Polar Summitry and NATO's Northern Flank (1988). Franklyn Griffiths (ed.), Politics of the Northwest Passage (1987), discusses political and economic aspects of territorial waters, boundaries, and shipping in the Arctic Archipelago and their impact on Canada. William E. Westermeyer and Kurt M. Shusterich (ed.), United States Arctic Interests: The 1980s and 1990s (1984), addresses the strategic importance of the region as a whole. Terence Edward Armstrong Study and exploration The literature on Arctic exploration and discovery falls into two streams: one devoted to the effort of the Russian and Soviet explorers, and the other describing the multinational or international effort. William Barr, First Ship to Round Mys Chelyuskina?, The Musk-Ox, 14:3036 (1974), is a brief discussion of a probability of early 17th-century attempts of sailing the Northeast Passage, and his Baron Eduard von Toll's Last Expedition: The Russian Polar Expedition, 19001903, Arctic, 34(3):201224 (September 1981), is an account of a major turn-of-the-century Russian expedition. L.M. Starokadomskiy, Charting the Russian Northern Sea Route: The Arctic Ocean Hydrographic Expedition 19101915 (1976; originally published in Russian, 1946; 3rd Russian ed., 1959), is a detailed examination of Imperial Russia's final attempt to survey the Northeast Passage. Terence E. Armstrong, The Northern Sea Route: Soviet Exploitation of the North East Passage (1952), although somewhat dated, is the standard source on the history of the development of the Northern Sea Route until World War II. William Barr, The Voyage of Sibiryakov, 1932, Polar Record, 19(120):253266 (1978), recounts the first successful one-season completion of the voyage through the entire Northern Sea Route, while his Severnaya Zemlya: The Last Major Discovery, The Geographical Journal, 141(1):5971 (March 1975), surveys the discovery and exploration of the last major landmass on the globe. Terence E. Armstrong, The Russians in the Arctic: Aspects of Soviet Exploration and Exploitation of the Far North, 19371957 (1958, reissued 1972), examines selected aspects of the history of exploration of the Russian Arctic during the period around World War II, and his The Northeast Passage as a Commercial Waterway, Ymer, 1980:86129 (1980), surveys the hundred years of exploration and exploitation of the route on the centenary of the Vega's pioneer through passage. Istoriia otkrytiia i osvoeniia Severnogo Morskogo Puti, 4 vol. (195669), is a massive historical summary that covers Arctic navigation from earliest times until the middle of the 19th century, continues the study of the period of industrial development in Russia and its impact on Arctic exploitation, surveys pre-World War II Soviet Arctic navigation, and concludes with the study of the preparation and conduct of World War II in the Arctic. Lawson W. Brigham (ed.), The Soviet Maritime Arctic (1991), presents an up-to-date treatment of historical, environmental, economic, legal, and geopolitical aspects of Soviet Arctic waters.Samuel E. Morison, The European Discovery of America, vol. 1, The Northern Voyages, A.D. 5001600 (1971), discusses all early searches for the Northwest Passage prior to 1600. Alan Cooke and Clive Holland, The Exploration of Northern Canada, 500 to 1920 (1978), offers detailed reference information in chronological arrangement. Glyndwr Williams, The British Search for the Northwest Passage in the Eighteenth Century (1962), is an excellent account of little-known 18th-century efforts. Louis Rey et al. (eds.), Unveiling the Arctic (1984), is a collection of papers on 18th-century travels to the Arctic and their recorders. Pierre Berton, The Arctic Grail: The Quest for the North West Passage and the North Pole, 18181909 (1988), is a good popular history. Patricia D. Sutherland (ed.), The Franklin Era in Canadian Arctic History, 18451859 (1985); and Richard J. Cyriax, Sir John Franklin's Last Arctic Expedition: A Chapter in the History of the Royal Navy (1939), examine Franklin's searches, interpret his fate, and evaluate the Arctic environment at the time. William Barr, The Expeditions of the First International Polar Year, 188283 (1985), offers a detailed treatment of all 14 expeditions of this pioneer initiative in polar science. Wally Herbert, The Noose of Laurels: The Discovery of the North Pole (1989), presents an expert analysis of the probability of either Cook or Peary having reached the North Pole. Roald Amundsen, The Amundsen Photographs, ed. by Roland Huntford (1987), offers visual imagery to accompany the other accounts of the Arctic explorations. Farley Mowat, Ordeal by Ice (1961), The Polar Passion (1967), and Tundra (1973), also published together as The Top of the World, 3 vol. (1973, reprinted 1989), provide an excellent summary-introduction to the history of exploration of the Canadian Arctic, with lengthy excerpts from firsthand accounts. Nancy Fogelson, Arctic Exploration & International Relations, 19001932 (1992), focuses particularly on American-Canadian relations. William Barr The Editors of the Encyclopdia Britannica