Just as the Aleut depended on the ocean for most of their food, the same is true for their technology. Marine mammals such as sea lions and seals were important not just for food but also for making a wide variety of products. Hides made boat covers, sinew made lines and cords, bones made tools, teeth made fishhooks, flippers made boot soles, stomachs made containers, and intestines made clothes.
Due to the wet maritime climate, waterproof clothing was crucial. Women made waterproof parkas, called kamleikas, from sea mammal intestines. These were sewn with incredible precision, which made them very effective against wet weather. Similar to modern Gore-Tex jackets, kamleikas were made not only to be waterproof but also breathable. This helped keep hunters dry in the cool, damp climate.
The skins of seals, sea lions, sea otters, bears, birds, squirrels, and marmots were all used for clothing. Aleuts wore long, hoodless coats made from sea mammal or bird skins. Women often wore clothing made from sea otter skins. Clothing was decorated with colorful natural dyes, feathers, puffin beaks, and, in some cases, elaborately carved ivory, bone, or wooden figurines. The bristles of a seal's beard were commonly used for ornaments.
Hats and baskets were woven from spruce roots and grass. Women also wove other goods, such as cords, cables, and fish lines, from plant fibers and animal tissue.
Aleut hunters with kamleikas
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