Listen to part of a lecture in an anthropology class. Professor: You've uh, you've heard me say how people around the world have adapted their shelters to their local climates. Now there's no better example of a well adapted form of shelter than what uh, then the houses of the Inuit people. The Inuit would have lived in the North American arctic since before Europeans arrived. So,The particular group of Inuit I want to discuss today live in northwestern Canada where a big river, the Mackenzie river enters the Arctic Ocean. It's a harsh environment very, very cold in winter. ok, What do you know about the Inuit already? What comes to mind? Male student: Don't they live in igloos and house is made of snow? Professor Can you say more about that? Yeah, Male student: they cut the snow in the blocks and use the blocks as building material kind of like bricks, right? Professor Yes. The igloo is a famous symbol of the Inuit work culture, but you'd be wrong if you thought that all in a wet lived in igloo is all winter that it was their main house. That's a misconception. Actually, that was true for some Inuit groups, but not for the group we are talking about near the Mackenzie River. And we're talking about traditional Inuit homes before the influence of Europeans. Today they live in houses more like yours and mine. So, This group of Inuit near the McKenzie river spent most of the winter in permanent houses which were made out of wood. But Most in a wet live where there are no trees since they're so far North, it's too cold for trees to live. So Where do you think this in a group got wood for their houses? I think about where they live on the river。 Male student: um maybe, they traded for it. People brought it to them down the river and they gave them something for it。 Professor that's one logical possibility, but think some more. What do you often see floating in rivers. Female student: wood? (yes )trees branches fallin the water or get washed into the water and they float downstream. Good. Professor: Goodwood drift wood floats down the river from areas farther south. So The permanent houses are made of wood,the walls, floor, ceiling, all of wood. They were pretty large enough to hold several families. These houses were ingenious the wood frame of the house slanted in toward the Top of the house. And they took s these are chunks of earth that have grass or plants growing in them. They laid the sod on the frame of the house and it would stay in place because of the way the frame was slanted, and that insulated the house, help keep the heat in. and the entrance to the house was a tunnel. So the entrance was below the level of the house and why do you suppose that is? Now think about warm air and cold air and what they do? Male students: Warm air rises, cold air sinks the warm air would stay in the house, it wouldn’t go out of the door, right? Professor: They also had heat and light from a fireplace and oil lamps and there was a hole or a window in the roof to let the smoke out. The temperature inside these houses was really warm warmer than most of us keep our houses in the winter pretty a that was even during the coldest weather. Female student: So what else do they have inside these houses? Professor Furniture sort of I they have things like dishes and pots and pans for cooking, tools and weapons for hunting and clothes, toys for their kids, but fur, they just had platforms to sleep on which they'd cover with skins or fur. They'd sit on the edge of these platforms or on the floor. Female student All right, so did they also use snow houses or just the permanent house? Professor Actually this in a group did use a goose, but they only spent a small part of the winter in them. They built them when they were out traveling or hunting. This was usually late in the winter when food was running low, the snow houses were not as comfortable as the wood house. And their entrance was also below the floor of the house, but overall they weren't as warm.