Prehistoric Semi-Subterranean Winter Houses

Prehistoric Semi-Subterranean Winter Houses The most common form of permanent housing in the prehistoric period for arctic regions was the semi-subterranean winter house. First built in the American arctic about 800 BC, by the Norton or Dorset Paleo-Eskimo groups, semi-subterranean houses were essentially dugouts, houses excavated partially or completely below the ground surface to take advantage of geothermal protections during the harshest of climates. While there are several versions of this form of house over time in the American arctic regions, and in fact there are several related forms in other polar regions (Gressbakken Houses in Scandinavia) and even in the great plains of North American and Asia (arguably earth lodges and pit houses), semi-subterranean houses reached their highest pinnacle in the Arctic. The homes were heavily insulated to ward off the bitter cold, and constructed to maintain both privacy and social contact for large groups of people despite that harsh climate. Construction Methods Semi-subterranean houses were built of a combination of cut sod, stone, and whalebone, insulated with sea mammal or reindeer skins and animal fats and covered with a bank of snow. Their interiors possessed cold-traps and sometimes dual seasonal entrance tunnels, rear sleeping platforms, kitchen areas (either spatially discrete or integrated into the main living area) and various storage areas (shelves, boxes) for stowing food, tools and other household goods. They were large enough to include members of extended families and their sled dogs, and they were connected to their relatives and the rest of the community via passageways and tunnels. The real genius of semi-subterranean homes, however, resided in their layouts. At Cape Espenberg, Alaska, a survey of beach ridge communities (Darwent and colleagues) identified a total of 117 Thule-Inupiat houses, occupied between 1300 and 1700 AD. They found the most common house layout was a linear house with one oval room, which was accessed by a long tunnel and between 1-2 side spurs used as kitchens or food-processing areas. Layouts for Community Contact A substantial minority, however, were multiple large-roomed houses, or single houses built side-by-side in groups of four or more. Interestingly, the house clusters, with multiple rooms and long entrance tunnels are all more common attributes at the early end of occupation at Cape Espenberg. That has been attributed by Darwent et al. to a shift from a dependence on whaling to localized resources, and the transition to a sharp downturn in climate called the Little Ice Age (AD 1550-1850). But the most extreme cases of below-ground communal connections in the Arctic was during the 18th and 19th century, during the Bow and Arrow Wars in Alaska. The Bow and Arrow Wars The Bow and Arrow wars were a long-lasting conflict between different tribes including the Alaskan Yupik villagers. The conflict could be compared to the 100 Years War in Europe: Caroline Funk says it imperiled lives and made legends of great men and women, with a range of conflicts from deadly to merely threatening. Yupik historians do not know when this conflict started: it may have begun with the Thule migration of 1,000 years ago and it may have been instigated in the 1700s by competition for long distance trading opportunities with the Russians. Most likely it began at some point in between. The Bow and Arrow Wars ended at or just prior to the arrival of Russians traders and explorers in Alaska in the 1840s. Based on oral histories, subterranean structures took on a new importance during the wars: not only did people need to conduct family and communal life inside because of weather demands, but to protect themselves from attack. According to Frink (2006), historic period semi-subterranean tunnels connected the members of the village in an underground system. The tunnels - some as long as 27 meters - were formed by horizontal logs of planks shored up by short vertical retainer logs. Roofs were constructed of short split logs and sod blocks covered the structure. The tunnel system included dwelling entrances and exits, escape routes and tunnels that linked village structures. Sources Coltrain JB. 2009. Sealing, whaling Journal of Archaeological Science 36(3):764-775. doi: 10.1016/j.jas.2008.10.022and caribou revisited: additional insights from the skeletal isotope chemistry of eastern Arctic foragers. Darwent J, Mason O, Hoffecker J, and Darwent C. 2013. 1,000 Years of House Change at Cape Espenberg, Alaska: A Case Study in Horizontal Stratigraphy. American Antiquity 78(3):433-455. 10.7183/0002-7316.78.3.433 Dawson PC. 2001. Interpreting Variability in Thule Inuit Architecture: A Case Study from the Canadian High Arctic. American Antiquity 66(3):453-470. Frink L. 2006. Social Identity and the Yupik Eskimo Village Tunnel System in Precolonial and Colonial Western Coastal Alaska. Archeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association 16(1):109-125. doi: 10.1525/ap3a.2006.16.1.109 Funk CL. 2010. The Bow and Arrow War days on the Yukon-Kuskokwim . Ethnohistory 57(4):523-569. doi: 10.1215/00141801-2010-036delta of Alaska Harritt RK. 2010. Variations of Late Prehistoric Houses in Coastal Northwest Alaska: A View from Wales. Arctic Anthropology 47(1):57-70. Harritt RK. 2013. Toward an archaeology of late prehistoric Eskimo bands in coastal northwest Alaska. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 32(4):659-674. doi: 10.1016/j.jaa.2013.04.001 Nelson EW. 1900. The Eskimo about Bering Strait. Washington DC: Government Printing Office. Free download

Overview and Book List for A Merlin Mission Books

Overview and Book List for A Merlin Mission Books The Magic Tree House Merlin Missions include Books # 29 and up in the wildly popular Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne. Like the first 28 books of the Magic Tree House series, each of the books subtitled A Merlin Mission features the magic tree house and time travel adventures of brother and sister Jack and Annie, but there is also a lot thats different. The time travel missions of Jack and Annie are now assigned by Merlin the Magician from Camelot, which is why the subtitle for every Magic Tree House book from book #29 on is A Merlin Mission.  The Magic Tree House, A Merlin Mission books are designed for kids who are ready for more advanced books than those in the first 28 books of the series for young independent readers. What to Expect Books #29 and higher are generally between 105 and 115 pages long, about 40 pages longer than books #1-28. They are also at a higher reading level, mostly between 2.4 and 3.4, and the target audience moves from 6 to 10 to 7 to 10 or 11 for the later books. Jack and Annie have also moved up in age. Jack is 11 now, and Annie is 10. Most of the books have several pages of facts and activities at the end. A chapter from the next book in the series is also provided. Like all of the other books in the Magic Tree House series, Sal Murdocca illustrated books #29 and up, with one or more engaging illustrations per chapter. New secondary characters and more complicated plots are now the norms. The overarching goal of each mission, which takes four books to complete, is more emphasized. For example, in books #33-36, Jack and Annie have to go on four missions, each to a real place and time, to demonstrate that they can use magic wisely. As a result of a successful mission in Venice, Baghdad, Paris and New York City, they receive a special award, the Wand of Dianthus, described as a powerful magic wand that would help them make their own magic. (Source, MTH #39, page 2) However, readers can continue to read and enjoy the books independently of one another, and in the order they prefer. At the beginning of the later books, author Mary Pope Osborne shares information about how her own experiences and interests relate to the books subject. In a portion of her letter to readers in Eve of the Emperor Penguin, Magic Tree House book #40, Osborne explains: While I was writing this book, I combined my memories of watching the penguins at the zoo with my research on Antarctica. And I used my imagination to think about Jack and Annie searching for a secret of happiness to share with Merlin. I always mix these three things together to create a Magic Tree House books: memory, research, and imagination. But theres one other ingredient that goes into my work on this series: joy. I love to write - and I love sharing Jack and Annie s adventures with you. One of the reasons Osborne receives so many letters from young readers is that her letters to readers make them feel that they have a personal connection with her. For more about Mary Pope Osborne and her books, check out these interviews with her: Magic Tree House Series Author Interview and 20th Anniversary of the Magic Tree House Interview With Mary Pope Osborne. As of March 2016, there was a total of 54 Magic Tree House books, with more forthcoming. All Merlin Mission books are first published in hardcover and, then, in paperback. They are also available in library binding and as audiobooks and eBooks. Also, there are 26 Magic Tree House Fact Tracker books, research guides, companion nonfiction books for some of the books in the series. Happily, ever since book #42, a Fact Tracker is published at the same time each new book in the Magic Tree House series is published. For more information about the nonfiction books, see Spotlight on the Magic Tree House Fact Tracker Books. List of Magic Tree House Books #29-48 (Merlin Missions) Christmas in Camelot, Magic Tree House, Book #29Haunted Castle On Hallow’s Eve, Magic Tree House, Book #30Summer Of The Sea Serpent, Magic Tree House, Book #31Winter Of The Ice Wizard, Magic Tree House, Book #32Carnival at Candlelight, Magic Tree House, Book #33Season of the Sandstorms, Magic Tree House, Book #34Night of the New Magicians, Magic Tree House, Book #35Blizzard of the Blue Moon, Magic Tree House, Book #36Dragon of the Red Dawn, Magic Tree House, Book #37Monday with a Mad Genius, Magic Tree House, Book #38Dark Day in the Deep Sea, Magic Tree House, Book #39Eve of the Emperor Penguin, Magic Tree House, Book #40Moonlight on the Magic Flute, Magic Tree House, Book #41A Good Night for Ghosts, Magic Tree House, Book #42Leprechaun in Late Winter, Magic Tree House, Book #43A Ghost Tale for Christmas Time, Magic Tree House, Book #44A Crazy Day with Cobras, Magic Tree House, Book #45Dogs in the Dead of Night, Magic Tree House, Book #46Abe Lincoln at Last!, Magic Tree House, Book #47 A Perfect Time for Pandas, Magic Tree House, Book #48Stallion by Starlight, Magic Tree House, Book #49Hurry Up, Houdini!, Magic Tree House, Book #50High Time for Heroes, Magic Tree House, Book #51Soccer on Sunday, Magic Tree House, Book #52Shadow of the Shark, Magic Tree House, Book #53Balto of the Blue Dawn, Magic Tree House, Book #54 The Allure Finding a series your child loves can pay off in helping them to develop their reading skills. The nice thing about the Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne is that there are so many choices in terms of subjects and books and children can enjoy the books over time as they build their reading skills. The Magic Tree House books are also popular with teachers, particularly those teaching grades 2-4. Mary Pope Osbornes Magic Tree House Classroom Adventures Program site contains a great deal of information that will be helpful to teachers and parents alike in terms of reading levels and curriculum connections, as well as lesson plans.