A: Eskimos are a Mongoloid race native to the Arctic coasts of Greenland, North America and north-east Asia. They are believed to have crossed the Bering Strait from Asia in about 200 BC. The Eskimos, who speak dialects of the Eskimo-Aleut language family, have preserved their cultural identity to a remarkable degree. Many of them still live by hunting and fishing using traditional skills to exploit the unyielding Arctic environment. Seals, fish, walrus and whales re hunted for food, fuel and clothing. Travel on land is by dog-sledge and on the water by kayak or Umiak, a skin boat. During hunting expeditions, temporary igloo shelters are sometimes built, but the basic home, in which the Eskimos live in small communal groups, is made of sod, driftwood and stone. Tents of hide or sealskin are used in the summer. The traditional Eskimo religion draws heavily on rich folklore. In Greenland, many Eskimos have adopted Christianity. Shamanism is also practised.
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