Man On The Rim--The Peopling Of The Pacific: Into The Deep Freeze

This 11-part series traces the ancient human migrations around the entire Pacific basin. In the episode we watched, "Into the Deep Freeze," the cameras travelled to Siberia, land of "the most arduous climate in the world," and posed the question of how early peoples survived in this arctic wilderness. Archaeology in the area is slow--since the ground is frozen most of the year. One thing is for certain, then and now, people were cold. Evolution being the handmaiden to survival, the species did what it had to do, naturally: bodies became short and squat, and faces closed in (in this clime, a long nose would only invite frostbite). The speculations of archaeologists and social scientists as to how these early people survived and later expanded into the Aleutian Islands, and over to Alaska is the main thrust of this absorbing program that visits many contemporary villages and nomadic peoples to see glimmers of customs that are as ancient as the dawn of human history. (In one fascinating sequence, we watch as a couple of natives create a sled on which to move their belongings. The sled is made up of frozen fish rolled up in animal hides--for the runners--with antlers bridging the two pieces of the sled. The runners are made instantaneously slick by filling the mouth with water, and squirting it onto the hide, where it immediately freezes into a smooth, slick surface.) This title, as well as the other titles in the series, are divided into two half-hour segments, making them appropriate for classroom use. Highly recommended for junior and senior high school libraries. (See ICEBREAKER for availability.)