Eskimo Architecture: Dwelling and Structure in the Early Historic Period [Hardcover]

Molly Lee (Author), Gregory A. Reinhardt (Author), Andrew Tooyak Jr. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2003

The architecture of Eskimo peoples represents a diversified and successful means of coping with one of the most severe climates humankind can inhabit. The popular image of the igloo is but one of the many structures examined by experts Lee and Reinhardt in the first book-length and arctic-wide study of this remarkable subject.

Lavishly illustrated with historic and contemporary photographs, drawings, and maps, this volume includes a comprehensive survey of the historical literature on Eskimo architecture around the circumpolar north. Lee and Reinhardt also draw on their own extensive fieldwork to present an extended comparative analysis of the geographic, climatic, and ethnographic aspects of material from four Arctic subregions: Greenland; the Central Arctic; the Northwest Arctic and Bering Strait; and Southwest Alaska, the Bering Sea, Siberia, and the Gulf of Alaska. In an innovative consideration of both material and cultural aspects of dwelling, they and the peoples they describe redefine the very meaning of "architecture."

While scholars of the circumpolar north will welcome the meticulous research of this benchmark study, its clear and fluent prose and abundant illustrations make an engrossing read for specialists and nonspecialists alike.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"[T]his survey should serve as an important springboard for future theoretical and interpretive studies of Eskimo culture. Recommended." -- Library Journal

"a unique and seminal work of impeccable and ground breaking scholarship" -- Midwest Book Review

About the Author

Molly Lee is curator of ethnology at the University of Alaska Museum and professor of anthropology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Gregory A. Reinhardt is professor and chair of the Department of Anthropology, and director of archeology for the Archeology and Forensics Laboratory at the University of Indianapolis.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 216 pages
• Publisher: University of Alaska Press; 1 edition (May 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1889963224
• ISBN-13: 978-1889963228
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,540,593 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Of impeccable and ground breaking scholarship, May 23, 2003

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eskimo Architecture: Dwelling and Structure in the Early Historic Period (Hardcover)

The collaborative effort of cultural anthropologist Molly Lee (Curator of Ethnology at the University of Alaska Museum and Professor of Anthropology, University of Alaska - Fairbanks) and Alaskan geoarcheology, and paleoindian prehistory expert Gregory A. Reinhardt, Eskimo Architecture: Dwelling And Structure In The Early Historic Period is a unique and seminal work of impeccable and ground breaking scholarship. Profusely illustrated, the informed and informative text covers Eskimo winter houses, transitional dwellings, summer dwellings, special-use structures, as well as associated rituals and beliefs organized in regional contexts which include Greenland; the Central Arctic; Northwest Arctic and Bering Strait; and Southwest Alaska, Bering Sea, Siberia, and Gulf of Alaska. Enhanced with a final chapter of "Summary and Conclusions", (as well as an Appendix, References, Names Index, and Subject Index), Eskimo Architecture is a unique and exceptionally welcome contribution to Native American Studies reference collections in general, and Eskimo Cultural Studies reading lists in particular.