Ancient skis.

[Homocommando]

As far as I know they were used in Finland, and surrounding regions, and also in Asia, Altai Mountains.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrWgSYRVEHM
This video features the Asian skis with fur, which enables them to slide forwards, but not backwards.
Also they seem to not be using ski sticks, but rather just poles.

This video seems to be strictly about the European skis:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-wF2U-W6xs
And it features the pole as well.
It seems like that pole was mainly for going down bigger hills (I think today it is not used due to better ski technology).
But was it actually used in Europe? Or did Europeans use ski sticks for pushing themselves instead? Or both, depending on terrain?

The skis in UrW seem to be a compromise between friction and sliding - one ski is good for pushing/walking (especially uphill) and the other one is excellent for sliding, giving them more flexibility. Is there proof that this is the kind of skis the Sami people used?



Does anyone know more about ancient skiing?

[Erkka]

  Is there proof that this is the kind of skis the Sami people used? 

I'm not sure what you count as "a proof", but here is a University research paper : https://www.utupub.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/147759/Korteniemi_Jaakko_opinnayte.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

It lists several pages of references, and if you scroll to the very bottom it also has a handful of related youtube links.

The research paper examines the pair of skis where the other ski is optimizied for gliding and the another for pushing / walking. The historical evidence suggests that this type of skis was invented by Sami people living around the Gulf of Botnia of the Baltic Sea, sometime around 500 BC, and was widely used until 1800 AD. The research paper describes also the experimental part where they crafted these skis to see how they perform in real usage. They found the design to be especially effective for hunting on skis.

[Homocommando]

https://www.utupub.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/147759/Korteniemi_Jaakko_opinnayte.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

The historical evidence suggests that this type of skis was invented by Sami people living around the Gulf of Botnia of the Baltic Sea, sometime around 500 BC, and was widely used until 1800 AD. The research paper describes also the experimental part where they crafted these skis to see how they perform in real usage. They found the design to be especially effective for hunting on skis.

Interesting. Thanks. I don't speak Finnish though.
Is it known why they weren't used so much after 1800?

[Erkka]

The ski design is optimal for hunting elk and wild forest reindeer. The populations of those animals collapsed near the end of 1800, so hunting them became illegal. Since there was no more that specialized need, people switched to using general-purpose skis.

I browsed through the sources of that research paper; here are some picks;

This is in Finnish as well, but has some pictures when you scroll to the bottom: https://www.kansallismuseo.fi/fi/kuukauden-esineet/2007/lyly-ja-kalhu-tornionjokilaaksosta

I don't know if any of these are accessible on-line, but I'd guess you could consult your local library:

- WEINSTOCK, John 2005; The role of skis and skiing in the settlement of early Scandinavia, The Northern Review, #25/26.

- VILKUNA, Janne 1984; Ancient Skis of Central Finland, Fennoskandia archaeologica 1.

- OVSYANNIKOV, O.V. 1989; On old Russian skis. Fennoskandia archaeologica VI

- NASKALI, Eero 1999; An Ancient Skis. , from "Dig it all, Papers dedicated to Ari Siiriäinen" The Finnish Antiquarian Society the Archaeological Society of Finland, Jyväskylä.

-KANKAANPÄÄ, Jarmo 1997; People in cold environments, from "Early in the North", University of Helsinki Department of Archaeology, No. 10. Helsinki.

- JANIK, Liliana - ROUGHLEY, Corinne - SZEZCNA, Katarzyna, 2007; Skiing on the Rocks: the Experiential Art of Fisher-gather-hunters in Prehistoric Northern Russia, Cambridge Archaeological Journal, Volume 17, Issue 03, October 2007, 297-310.