What kind of watercraft do you think this is a model of?
Where did it come from?
Who would have used it?
Answers:
What kind of watercraft do you think this is a model of?
This is an Umiak! The umiak is a type of watercraft used by the Yupik and the Inuit people, two indigenous groups of the Alaska area. lAlthough this model umiak seats three, in real life an umiak can usually seat up to fifteen people, and was traditionally made out of driftwood or whalebone, making it more lightweight than most modern vessels.
Where did it come from? Who would have used it?
The umiak was used by both Yupik and Inuit cultures for their traditional whaling practices. In the Eastern Arctic the umiak was used less for hunting than for general transportation, although men would often travel by kayak and leave the umiaks for the women and children.
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