What is this “Rock Man”? - Wild Berry Park - Anchorage, AK - Alaska Historic Markers on Waymarking.com

Long Description:

What is this “Rock Man”?

For generations the Inuit people of Northern Canada, Greenland, and Alaska if constructed these rock monuments for hunting and navigational purposes. Our inuksuk is a giant version based on similar monuments found throughout the Arctic.

Inuksuk or Inunnguaq?
An “inuksuk” is usually constructed from un-worked rocks and used for marking a location or communicating directions.

Some inuksuk have been built to resemble people and are given the name inunnguaq. Most of these have been built in the last century by native and non-native people. Our 19 foot inuksuk is one such example.

What purpose did they serve?
During winter months on the featureless arctic planes, the inuksuk became an invaluable tool for survival.

Similar to the street signs of modern day, the Inuit people have used the inuksuit as guides and directional markers for generations. One could easily explain a particular route to travelers by describing the inuksuit they would see along the way. Food caches, settlements, and hunting grounds were also marked with these monuments.

More Information:
Wikipedia - Inuit
Wikipedia - Inuksuk



Address
Wild Berry Park
5225 Juneau St
Anchorage, AK 99518

Marker Name: What is this “Rock Man”? Marker Type: City Addtional Information: This Inuksuk stands next to the parking lot of Wild Berry Park. From Wikipedia: Inuksuk "The word inuksuk means "something which acts for or performs the function of a person". The word comes from the morphemes inuk ("person") and -suk ("ersatz" or "substitute"). It is pronounced inutsuk in Nunavik and the southern part of Baffin Island (see Inuit phonology for the linguistic reasons). In many of the central Nunavut dialects, it has the etymologically related name inuksugaq (plural: inuksugait)." Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inunnguaq Date Dedicated / Placed: Not listed Marker Number: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Preferred would be to post a photo of you OR your GPS at the marker location. Also if you know of any additional links not already mentioned about this bit of Alaska history please include that in your log.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   9/1/2013 Lat34North visited it