Archaeologists in the Arctic are faced with a number of unique challenges - it’s an incredibly vast region, areas are difficult to get to, there's a short season to explore, and excavations often have to be made into permanently frozen ground (permafrost).

Those obstacles, combined with the fact that the Inuit had no written language or record, have kept much of the history of Arctic habitation a mystery - until recently.

Archaeological evidence has revealed that the Arctic region of the North American continent has seen some of the most fascinating human adaptations anywhere.

Remains of ancient settlements show that Arctic peoples have subsisted for thousands of years on the resources of land and sea - surviving and prospering under some of the harshest conditions on Earth.

PICTURES: Top: The remains of an ancient Inuit settlement. Right: Ivory doll.