The word IGLOO means shelter of eskimos. It can refer to kind of house,not really the dome shaped snow houses that many people associate with the word.
In summer,most eskimos lived in tents which are made of animal skins. In western alaska, very large winter tents were made by placing heavy walrus skins over wood frames. On the northern coast of Alaska, dome shaped houses were built of logs and whale ribs. The dome was raised over a depression in the ground and was covered with frozen turf. In greenland houses were built of stone slabs.
Snow houses were used only in the eastern and central region. They are made from blocks of packed snow, built into a dome. Small snow houses with short tunnel entrances were used while travelling. Larger snow houses were used as winter residences.LOng tunnels entrances provided storage space in these larger homes. The entrance tunnel opened into the house below floor level.
In the rear half of the house and both sides of the door, there were snow benches about 1 meter high. The rear bench was covered with animal skins and used for sleeping. The side benches supported racks for drying clothes,food supplied,and seal-oil lamps that provided light and heat.
Sometimes two large snow houses were joined together by tunnels. Some snow were lined with sealskins that were sewed together by tunnel.some snow houses were lined with sealskins that were sewed together and suspended from the top of the dome.
TYPES OF IGLOO
The smallest was constructed as a temporary shelter, usually only used for one or two nights. These were built and used during hunting trips,often on open sea ice.
- Intermediate sized igloos were semi-permanent,family dwelling.This was usually a single room dwelling that housed one or two families. Often there were several of these in a small area, which formed an Inuit village.
- The largest igloos were normally built in groups of two. One of the buildings was a temporary structure built for special occasions the other built nearby for living.These might have had up to five rooms and housed of up to 20 people.