Qulliq (Inuit soapstone lamp)
Qulliq (lámpara de esteatita inuit)
- Date
- desde c. 500 BCE (cultura Dorset) · confidence low
- Place
- Igloolik, Nunavut, Canada
- Credited to
- Dorset and Thule Palaeo-Inuit peoples; Inuit
- Field
- Tools
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
A low crescent-shaped soapstone lamp filled with seal or whale oil and a wick of moss or Arctic cotton. It gives light and heat to dry clothes, melt ice and cook, and is tended by the woman of the household.
Stone lamps appear in Palaeo-Inuit Arctic cultures from about 4,000 years ago; the classic Inuit form is Thule (c. AD 1000-1200). It is presented as a tradition, with a very wide date range.
What it led to
- winter household life in the Arctic without wood
- melting snow for drinking and drying skins
- a cultural symbol of the Inuit home