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Re: Paddle: Iqyax - Baidarka
By:Rober W
Date: 7/21/2015, 2:15 pm
In Response To: Re: Paddle: Iqyax - Baidarka (Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks)

I guess you must mean "Aleuts" when you say "Inuits".

No, I mean Inuits, as the general group that gets more credit for the various aspect of their lifestyle in general, and kayaking in particular than they may have possessed in reality.

I guess you are also unfamiliar with the fact that the Aleutian Islands are smack dab in the middle of the richest sea
and mammal grounds in the world to this day!

The fact that the seas are brimming with life does not directly translate into regular, plentiful and nutritious diet.
Hunting is a time consuming, sometimes dangerous and often disappointing way to sustain oneself.
If it was not the case, the Neolithic Revolution would've never taken place.

The Aleuts lived on the Aleutian Islands and paddled in such rough and stormy seas because the food was so plentiful.

And lost their lives, or came back ashore empty-handed.
Again, I am speaking about the sea-kayking natives (aka Inuits) in general, perhaps the Aleuts were an exception.
Still, if they were, I'd like to see their anthropomorphic data, which is a good indication of the quality of their nutrition.

There is actually data to support this idea. William S Laughlin, an Animal Physiology professor at UCONN measured the arm bone remains of Aleut men and found them to be very large and strong relative to European men. Bone strength is an indicator of arm strength (Pitcher have thicker bone in the pitching arm). His conclusion was that Aleut kayakers would have been extremely strong. I can't find a reference link for this, but I talked to Prof. Laughlin about it years ago.

Interesting, however...
What does the large and strong arm bone really indicate? High "single rep" strength? Or the fact the individual performed thousands and thousands(millions) repetitions with that arm (lifetime of paddling)?
Still, it is clear they had 'strong' upper bodies, but I think 'strong' in the 'high endurance', not 'sprint speed' sense (read on)

FWIW Aleuts may not have been starving, and a subsistence lifestyle where survival depends on physical strength tends to make for strong people.

Well, in the Inuits case it probably worked the way that women chose to mate with the best food providers.
The best food providers were obviously the best hunters. However, who makes the best hunter? Did they succeeded in hunting by out sprinting their prey? Or perhaps they relied more on keen knowledge of the weather, the sea conditions, the habits of the mammals they are hunting, and on skill and stealth in the final phase of the hunt?

Messages In This Thread

Paddle: Iqyax - Baidarka
Rob Macks/Laughing Loon CC&K -- 7/14/2015, 12:41 pm
Re: Paddle: Iqyax - Baidarka
Rob Macks/Laughing Loon CC&K -- 7/14/2015, 1:14 pm
Re: Paddle: Iqyax - Baidarka
Rob Macks/Laughing Loon CC&K -- 7/22/2015, 8:13 am
Re: Paddle: Iqyax - Baidarka
Robert W -- 7/14/2015, 8:37 pm
Re: Paddle: Iqyax - Baidarka
Robert W -- 7/14/2015, 8:50 pm
Re: Paddle: Iqyax - Baidarka
scottbaxter -- 7/14/2015, 9:20 pm
Re: Paddle: Aleut Strength
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 7/15/2015, 9:49 am
Re: Paddle: Iqyax - Baidarka *PIC*
Rob Macks/Laughing Loon CC&K -- 7/20/2015, 8:04 pm
Re: Paddle: Iqyax - Baidarka
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 7/15/2015, 9:24 am
Re: Paddle: Iqyax - Baidarka
Rob Macks/Laughing Loon CC&K -- 7/15/2015, 3:07 pm
Re: Paddle: Iqyax - Baidarka
Rober W -- 7/21/2015, 2:15 pm
Re: Paddle: Iqyax - Baidarka
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 7/22/2015, 9:39 am
Re: Paddle: Iqyax - Baidarka
Rober W -- 7/22/2015, 11:10 am
Re: Paddle: Iqyax - Baidarka
Bill Hamm -- 7/22/2015, 12:30 pm
Re: Paddle: Iqyax - Baidarka
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 7/22/2015, 5:58 pm
Re: Paddle: Iqyax - Baidarka
Olli -- 7/22/2015, 6:37 pm
Re: Paddle: Iqyax - Baidarka
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 7/22/2015, 8:34 pm
Re: Paddle: Iqyax - Baidarka
Rob Macks/Laughing Loon CC&K -- 7/23/2015, 10:51 am
Re: Paddle: Iqyax - Baidarka *PIC*
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 7/23/2015, 9:52 pm
Re: Paddle: Iqyax - Baidarka *PIC*
Rob Macks/Laughing Loon CC&K -- 7/23/2015, 11:49 pm
Re: Paddle: Iqyax - Baidarka
Etienne Muller -- 7/23/2015, 4:14 am
Re: Paddle: Iqyax - Baidarka
Etienne Muller -- 7/23/2015, 4:38 am
Re: Paddle: Iqyax - Baidarka
Roy Martin -- 7/23/2015, 9:26 am
Re: Paddle: Iqyax - Baidarka *PIC*
Etienne Muller -- 7/23/2015, 12:25 pm
Re: Paddle: Iqyax - Baidarka
Rob Macks/Laughing Loon CC&K -- 7/23/2015, 12:35 pm
Re: Paddle: Iqyax - Baidarka
scottbaxter -- 7/23/2015, 2:12 pm
Re: Paddle: Iqyax - Baidarka
Rob Macks/Laughing Loon CC&K -- 7/23/2015, 3:56 pm
Re: Paddle: Iqyax - Baidarka
Bill Hamm -- 7/23/2015, 5:16 pm
Re: Paddle: Iqyax - Baidarka
Pete -- 7/23/2015, 2:33 pm
Re: Paddle: Iqyax - Baidarka
Rob Macks/Laughing Loon CC&K -- 7/23/2015, 3:52 pm
Re: Paddle: Iqyax - Baidarka
Bill Hamm -- 7/23/2015, 5:13 pm
Re: Paddle: Iqyax - Baidarka
Rob Macks/Laughing Loon CC&K -- 7/23/2015, 5:33 pm
Re: Paddle: Iqyax - Baidarka
Bill Hamm -- 7/23/2015, 6:43 pm
Re: Paddle: Iqyax - Baidarka
Bill Hamm -- 7/23/2015, 11:36 pm
Re: Paddle: Iqyax - Baidarka *NM*
Etienne Muller -- 7/23/2015, 4:24 am
Re: Paddle: Iqyax - Baidarka *PIC*
Etienne Muller -- 7/23/2015, 4:45 am
Re: Paddle: Iqyax - Baidarka
george jung -- 7/23/2015, 11:47 pm