SurfÂing is genÂerÂalÂly believed to have origÂiÂnatÂed in Hawaii and will be forÂevÂer assoÂciÂatÂed with the PolyÂneÂsian islands. Yet anthroÂpolÂoÂgists have found eviÂdence of someÂthing like surfÂing wherÂevÂer humans have encounÂtered a beach — on the coasts of West Africa, in the Caribbean, India, SyrÂia, and Japan. SurfÂing hisÂtoÂriÂan Matt WarÂshaw sums up the probÂlem with locatÂing the oriÂgins of this human activÂiÂty: “RidÂing waves simÂply for pleaÂsure most likeÂly develÂoped in one form or anothÂer among any coastal peoÂple livÂing near warm ocean water.” Could one make a simÂiÂlar point about skiÂing?
It seems that wherÂevÂer humans have setÂtled in places covÂered with snow for much of the year, they’ve improÂvised all kinds of ways to travÂel across it. Who did so with the first skis, and when? Ski-like objects datÂing from 6300–5000 BC have been found in northÂern RusÂsia. A New York Times artiÂcle recentÂly described eviÂdence of Stone Age skiers in ChiÂna. “If skiÂing, as it seems posÂsiÂble,” Nils Larsen writes at the InterÂnaÂtionÂal SkiÂing HisÂtoÂry AssoÂciÂaÂtion, “dates back 10,000 years or more, idenÂtiÂfyÂing a point of oriÂgin (or oriÂgins) will be difÂfiÂcult at best.” Such disÂcusÂsions tend to get “bogged down in polÂiÂtics and nationÂal pride,” Larsen writes. For examÂple, “since the emerÂgence of skiÂing in greater Europe in the late 1800s” — as a sport and pureÂly recreÂationÂal activÂiÂty — “NorÂway has often been conÂsidÂered the birthÂplace of skiÂing. NorÂway has proÂmotÂed this view and it is a point of nationÂal pride.”
Despite its earÂliÂest records of skiÂing datÂing milÂlenÂnia latÂer than othÂer regions, NorÂway has some claim. The word ski is, after all, NorÂweÂgian, derived from Old Norse skĂĂ°, meanÂing “cleft wood” or “stick.” And the best-preÂserved ancient skis ever found have been disÂcovÂered in a NorÂweÂgian ice field. “Even the bindÂings are mostÂly intact,” notes KotÂtke. The first ski, believed to be 1300 years old, turned up in 2014, found by the GlacÂiÂer ArcheÂolÂoÂgy ProÂgram (GAP) in the mounÂtains of InnÂlanÂdet CounÂty, NorÂway. The archaeÂolÂoÂgists decidÂed to wait, let the ice melt, and see if the othÂer ski would appear. It did, just recentÂly, and in the video above, you can watch the researchers pull it from the ice.
PhoÂto: Andreas ChristofÂfer NilsÂson, secretsoftheice.com
“MeaÂsurÂing about 74 inchÂes long and 7 inchÂes wide,” notes Livia GerÂshon at SmithÂsonÂian, “the secÂond ski is slightÂly largÂer than its mate. Both feaÂture raised footholds. Leather straps and twistÂed birch bark bindÂings found with the skis would have been attached through holes in the footholds. The new ski shows signs of heavy wear and evenÂtuÂal repairs.” The two skis are not idenÂtiÂcal, “but we should not expect them to be,” says archaeÂolÂoÂgist Lars Pilø. “The skis are handÂmade, not mass-proÂduced. They have a long and indiÂvidÂual hisÂtoÂry of wear and repair before an Iron Age skiÂer used them togethÂer and they endÂed up in the ice.”
The new ski answered quesÂtions the researchers had about the first disÂcovÂery, such as how the ancient skis might have mainÂtained forÂward motion uphill. “A furÂrow on the underÂside along the length of the ski, as you find on othÂer preÂhisÂtoric skis (and on modÂern cross-counÂtry skis), would solve the quesÂtion,” they write, and the secÂond ski conÂtained such a furÂrow. While they may nevÂer prove that NorÂway inventÂed skiÂing, as glacÂiÂer ice melts and new artiÂfacts appear each year, the team will learn much more about ancient NorÂweÂgian skiers and their way of life. See their curÂrent disÂcovÂerÂies and folÂlow their future progress at the Secrets of the Ice webÂsite and on their YouTube chanÂnel.
RelatÂed ConÂtent:
ArchaeÂolÂoÂgists Find the EarÂliÂest Work of “Abstract Art,” DatÂing Back 73,000 Years
Medieval TenÂnis: A Short HisÂtoÂry and DemonÂstraÂtion
Josh Jones is a writer and musiÂcian based in Durham, NC. FolÂlow him at @jdmagness
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