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50-497: As of the 2002 census, Koryaks constituted about a quarter of the population. At the time, it had the smallest population of all the federal subjects , despite being ranked seventeenth in size, at 301,500 square kilometers (116,400 sq mi), encompassing part of the northern half of Kamchatka Peninsula . About 50.5% of the total population is indigenous, the Koryaks being the largest such group. They are, however, outnumbered by

100-458: A land bridge referred to as the Bering land bridge , that was up to 1,000 km (620 mi) wide at its greatest extent and which covered an area as large as British Columbia and Alberta together, totaling about 1.6 million km (620,000 sq mi), allowing biological dispersal to occur between Asia and North America. Today, the only land that is visible from the central part of

150-720: A dialect of Koryak), are linguistically close to the Chukchi language . All of these languages are members of the Chukotko-Kamchatkan language family . They are more distantly related to the Itelmens on the Kamchatka Peninsula. All of these peoples and other, unrelated minorities in and around Kamchatka are known collectively as Kamchadals . Neighbors of the Koryaks include the Evens to

200-407: A hide shirt , which often had a hood attached to it, boots and traditional caps made of reindeer skin. They still use the boots and caps. The women wore the same as the men, but with a longer shirt reaching to the calves. Today, women often wear a head cloth and skirt , but wear the reindeer skin robe in cold weather. The Koryak lived in domed shaped tents, called jajanga, or yaranga (from

250-460: A land bridge from c.  30,000  – c.  11,000  YBP, followed by a Holocene sea-level rise that reopened the strait. Post-glacial rebound has continued to raise some sections of the coast. During the last glacial period , enough of the Earth's water became frozen in the great ice sheets covering North America and Europe to cause a drop in sea levels . For thousands of years

300-514: A major part in the diet, as reindeer flesh did not contain some necessary vitamins and minerals , nor dietary fibre , needed to survive in the harsh tundra . Today, the Koryaks also buy processed food, such as bread , cereal , and canned fish . They sell some reindeer each year for money, but can build up their herds due to the large population of reindeer. Clothing was made out of reindeer hides , but nowadays men and women often have replaced that with cloth . The men wore baggy pants and

350-475: A rich diversity of grasses and herbs. There were patches of shrub tundra with isolated refugia of larch ( Larix ) and spruce ( Picea ) forests with birch ( Betula ) and alder ( Alnus ) trees. It has been proposed that the largest and most diverse megafaunal community residing in Beringia at this time could only have been sustained in a highly diverse and productive environment. Analysis at Chukotka on

400-542: A series of at least fifty smaller aftershocks in the area and immediately offshore. They ranged from 4.1 to 6.5 magnitudes on the Richter scale . Bruce Presgrave, a geophysicist with the U.S.G.S. in Colorado , said the quake was relatively shallow. He estimated that about 2,000 people live close enough to the epicenter to have felt its full force. Koryaks Koryaks ( Russian : коряки ) are an Indigenous people of

450-586: A very young age. The other Koryak were skilled seafarers hunting whales and other marine mammals. Koryaks believe in a Supreme Being whom they call by various names: ŋajŋənen (Universe/World), ineɣitelʔən (Supervisor), ɣət͡ɕɣoletənvəlʔən (Master-of-the-Upper-World), ɣət͡ɕɣolʔən (One-on-High), etc. He is considered to reside in Heaven with his family and when he wishes to punish mankind for immoral acts, he falls asleep and thus leaves man vulnerable to unsuccessful hunting and other ills. Koryak mythology centers on

500-431: Is by air or boat, although tracked vehicles are used for travel to neighboring villages. They developed snowshoes , which they used in winter (and still do) when the snow is deep. Snowshoes are made by lashing reindeer sinew and hide strips to a tennis racket -shaped birch bark or willow hoop. The sinew straps are used to attach the shoe to the foot. Children learned to ride a reindeer, sleigh, and use snowshoes at

550-590: The Aleutians and islands in the Bering Sea at the close of the nineteenth century indicated that a past land connection might lie beneath the shallow waters between Alaska and Chukotka . The underlying mechanism was first thought to be tectonics, but by 1930 changes in the ice mass balance, leading to global sea-level fluctuations were viewed as the cause of the Bering land bridge. In 1937, Eric Hultén proposed that around

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600-682: The Anadyr River ), and Arctodus simus , American badger , American kiang -like equids, Bootherium and Camelops in North America, with the existence of Homotherium being disputed in Late Pleistocene Siberia. The lack of mastodon and Megalonyx has been attributed to their inhabitation of Alaska and the Yukon being limited to interglacials. However, ground sloth eDNA has potentially been recovered from Siberia. The peopling of

650-770: The Koryak Okrug , of which the administrative centre is Palana . Today the Koryak are the largest minority group with 8,743 people. The krai's population is now majority ethnic Russian, descendants of the Cossack colonizers. Beringia Beringia is defined today as the land and maritime area bounded on the west by the Lena River in Russia ; on the east by the Mackenzie River in Canada ; on

700-587: The Last Glacial Maximum , when ice sheets began advancing from 33,000   YBP and reached their maximum limits 26,500   YBP. Deglaciation commenced in the Northern Hemisphere approximately 19,000   YBP and in Antarctica approximately 14,500 years   YBP, which is consistent with evidence that glacial meltwater was the primary source for an abrupt rise in sea level 14,500   YBP and

750-674: The Russian Far East , who live immediately north of the Kamchatka Peninsula in Kamchatka Krai and inhabit the coastlands of the Bering Sea . The cultural borders of the Koryaks include Tigilsk in the south and the Anadyr basin in the north. The Koryaks are culturally similar to the Chukchis of extreme northeast Siberia. The Koryak language and Alutor (which is often regarded as

800-607: The Tsar in 1695. The variant name was adopted by Russia in official state documents, hence popularizing it ever since. The origin of the Koryak is unknown. Anthropologists have speculated that a land bridge connected the Eurasian and North American continent during Late Pleistocene . It is possible that migratory peoples crossed the modern-day Koryak land en route to North America . Scientists have suggested that people traveled back and forth between this area and Haida Gwaii before

850-735: The ice age receded. They theorize that the ancestors of the Koryak had returned to Siberian Asia from North America during this time. Cultural and some linguistic similarity exist between the Nivkh and the Koryak. The Koryak once occupied a much larger area of the Russian Far East. Their overlapping borders extended to the Nivkh areas in Khabarovsk Krai until the Evens arrived, and pushed them into their present region. A smallpox epidemic in 1769–1770 and warfare with Russian Cossacks reduced

900-595: The Aleutians and the Bering Strait region were tundra plants that had originally dispersed from a now-submerged plain between Alaska and Chukotka, which he named Beringia after Vitus Bering who had sailed into the strait in 1728. The American arctic geologist David Hopkins redefined Beringia to include portions of Alaska and Northeast Asia. Beringia was later regarded as extending from the Verkhoyansk Mountains in

950-648: The American glaciers blocking the way southward melted, but before the bridge was covered by the sea about 11,000 YBP. The term Beringia was coined by the Swedish botanist Eric Hultén in 1937, from the Danish-born Russian explorer Vitus Bering . During the ice ages, Beringia, like most of Siberia and all of North and Northeast China , was not glaciated because snowfall was very light . The remains of Late Pleistocene mammals that had been discovered on

1000-762: The Americas began when Paleolithic hunter-gatherers ( Paleo-Indians ) entered North America from the North Asian Mammoth steppe via the Beringia land bridge , which had formed between northeastern Siberia and western Alaska due to the lowering of sea level during the Last Glacial Maximum (26,000 to 19,000 years ago). These populations expanded south of the Laurentide Ice Sheet and spread rapidly southward, occupying both North and South America by 12,000 to 14,000 years ago. The earliest populations in

1050-487: The Americas, before roughly 10,000 years ago, are known as Paleo-Indians . Indigenous peoples of the Americas have been linked to Siberian populations by proposed linguistic factors , the distribution of blood types , and in genetic composition as reflected by molecular data, such as DNA . Around 3,000 years ago, the progenitors of the Yupik peoples settled along both sides of the straits. The governments of Russia and

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1100-564: The Bering land bridge are the Diomede Islands , the Pribilof Islands of St. Paul and St. George, St. Lawrence Island , St. Matthew Island , and King Island . It is believed that a small human population of at most a few thousand arrived in Beringia from eastern Siberia during the Last Glacial Maximum before expanding into the settlement of the Americas sometime after 16,500 years Before Present (YBP). This would have occurred as

1150-524: The Koryak population from 10 to 11,000 in 1700 to 4,800 in 1800. Under the Soviet Union , the Koryak Autonomous Okrug was formed in 1931 and named after the Koryak people. Based on a local referendum in 2005, this was merged with Kamchatka Krai effective 1 July 2007. Families usually gathered into groups of six or seven, forming bands . The nominal chief had no predominating authority, and

1200-485: The Last Glacial Maximum. This was followed by a single population of modern wolves expanding out of their Beringia refuge to repopulate the wolf's former range, replacing the remaining Late Pleistocene wolf populations across Eurasia and North America. The extinct pine species Pinus matthewsii has been described from Pliocene sediments in the Yukon areas of the refugium. The existence of fauna endemic to

1250-518: The Siberian edge of the land bridge indicated that from c.  57,000  – c.  15,000  YBP (MIS 3 to MIS 2) the environment was wetter and colder than the steppe–tundra to the east and west, with warming in parts of Beringia from c.  15,000  YBP. These changes provided the most likely explanation for mammal migrations after c.  15,000  YBP, as the warming provided increased forage for browsers and mixed feeders. At

1300-884: The United States announced a plan to formally establish "a transboundary area of shared Beringian heritage". Among other things this agreement would establish close ties between the Bering Land Bridge National Preserve and the Cape Krusenstern National Monument in the United States and Beringia National Park in Russia. Biogeographical evidence demonstrates previous connections between North America and Asia. Similar dinosaur fossils occur both in Asia and in North America . The dinosaur Saurolophus

1350-600: The Yukon where it was blocked by the Wisconsin glaciation . Therefore, the flora and fauna of Beringia were more related to those of Eurasia rather than North America. Beringia received more moisture and intermittent maritime cloud cover from the north Pacific Ocean than the rest of the Mammoth steppe, including the dry environments on either side of it. This moisture supported a shrub-tundra habitat that provided an ecological refugium for plants and animals. In East Beringia 35,000 YBP,

1400-581: The Yukon. In the driest and coldest periods of the Late Pleistocene, and possibly during the entire Pleistocene, moisture occurred along a north–south gradient with the south receiving the most cloud cover and moisture due to the air-flow from the North Pacific. In the Late Pleistocene, Beringia was a mosaic of biological communities. Commencing from c.  57,000  YBP ( MIS 3), steppe–tundra vegetation dominated large parts of Beringia with

1450-512: The average water depth of the Bering Strait is 40–50 m (130–160 ft); therefore the land bridge opened when the sea level dropped more than 50 m (160 ft) below the current level. A reconstruction of the sea-level history of the region indicated that a seaway existed from c.  135,000  – c.  70,000  YBP, a land bridge from c.  70,000  – c.  60,000  YBP, an intermittent connection from c.  60,000  – c.  30,000  YBP,

1500-652: The beginning of the Holocene , some mesic habitat -adapted species left the refugium and spread westward into what had become tundra-vegetated northern Asia and eastward into northern North America. The latest emergence of the land bridge was c.  70,000 years ago. However, from c.  24,000  – c.  13,000  YBP the Laurentide Ice Sheet fused with the Cordilleran Ice Sheet , which blocked gene flow between Beringia (and Eurasia) and continental North America. The Yukon corridor opened between

1550-462: The bridge was finally inundated around 11,000 YBP. The fossil evidence from many continents points to the extinction of large animals, termed Pleistocene megafauna , near the end of the last glaciation. During the Ice Age a vast, cold and dry Mammoth steppe stretched from the arctic islands southwards to China, and from Spain eastwards across Eurasia and over the Bering land bridge into Alaska and

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1600-413: The chum. They used small cupboards to store the families' food, clothing and personal items. The inland Koryak rode reindeer to get around, cutting off their antlers to prevent injuries. They also fitted a team of reindeer with harnesses and attached them to sleds to transport goods and people when moving camp. Today the Koryak use snowmobiles more often than reindeer. Most inter-village transport

1650-421: The climate was warmer and wetter. The environmental conditions were not homogenous in Beringia. Recent stable isotope studies of woolly mammoth bone collagen demonstrate that western Beringia ( Siberia ) was colder and drier than eastern Beringia ( Alaska and Yukon ), which was more ecologically diverse. Grey wolves suffered a species-wide population bottleneck (reduction) approximately 25,000 YBP during

1700-594: The dry beds of the English Channel and North Sea , and the dry bed of the South China Sea linked Sumatra , Java , and Borneo to Indochina . The last glacial period , commonly referred to as the "Ice Age", spanned 125,000 –14,500   YBP and was the most recent glacial period within the current ice age , which occurred during the last years of the Pleistocene era. The Ice Age reached its peak during

1750-517: The ethnic Russians . On April 20, 2006, Kamchatka Peninsula was struck by a major earthquake . The 7.7-magnitude tremor had its epicenter near the village of Tilichiki . The Koryakia branch of the Ministry of Emergency Situations said some area residents were injured but there were no fatalities. The quake occurred at about noon local time Friday, so residents were awake and not caught in their beds. The United States Geological Survey reported

1800-545: The groups relied on consensus to make decisions, resembling common small group egalitarianism . The lives of the people in the interior revolved around reindeer , their main source of food. They also used all the parts of its body to make sewing materials and clothing, tools and weapons. The meat was mostly eaten roasted and the blood , marrow , and milk were drunk or eaten raw. The liver , heart , kidneys , and tongue were considered delicacies. Salmon and other freshwater fish as well as berries and roots played

1850-450: The herds as they graze with the seasons. According to the 2010 census, there were 7,953 Koryaks in Russia. The name Koryak was from the exonym word 'Korak', meaning 'with the reindeer (kor)' in a nearby group Chukotko-Kamchatkan language . The earliest references to the name 'Koryak' were recorded in the writings of the Russian cossack Vladimir Atlasov , who conquered Kamchatka for

1900-470: The more famous Chukchi term) similar to a tipi of the American Plains Indians, but less vertical, while some lived in yurts . The framework was covered in many reindeer skins. Few families still use the yaranga as dwellings, but some use them for trips to the tundra. The centre of the yaranga had a hearth , which has been replaced by an iron stove . Reindeer hide beds are placed to the east in

1950-768: The north by 72° north latitude in the Chukchi Sea ; and on the south by the tip of the Kamchatka Peninsula . It includes the Chukchi Sea , the Bering Sea , the Bering Strait , the Chukchi and Kamchatka Peninsulas in Russia as well as Alaska in the United States and the Yukon in Canada . The area includes land lying on the North American Plate and Siberian land east of the Chersky Range . At various times, it formed

2000-525: The northern arctic areas experienced temperatures 1.5 °C (2.7 °F) degrees warmer than today but the southern sub-Arctic regions were 2 °C (4 °F) degrees cooler. During the LGM 22,000 YBP the average summer temperature was 3–5 °C (5–9 °F) degrees cooler than today, with variations of 2.9 °C (5.2 °F) degrees cooler on the Seward Peninsula to 7.5 °C (13.5 °F) cooler in

2050-678: The origin of these wolves in eastern Beringia during the Middle Pleistocene . Fossil evidence also indicates an exchange of primates and plants between North America and Asia around 55.8 million years ago. 20 million years ago, evidence in North America shows the last natural interchange of mammalian species. Some, like the ancient saber-toothed cats , have a recurring geographical range: Europe, Africa, Asia, and North America. The pattern of bidirectional flow of biota has been asymmetric, with more plants, animals, and fungi generally migrating from Asia to North America than vice versa throughout

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2100-463: The receding ice sheets c.  13,000  YBP, and this once again allowed gene flow between Eurasia and continental North America until the land bridge was finally closed by rising sea levels c.  10,000  YBP. During the Holocene, many mesic-adapted species left the refugium and spread eastward and westward, while at the same time the forest-adapted species spread with the forests up from

2150-490: The respective Siberian and North American portions of Beringia has led to the 'Beringian Gap' hypothesis, wherein an unconfirmed geographic factor blocked migration across the land bridge when it emerged. Beringia did not block the movement of most dry steppe-adapted large species such as saiga antelope, woolly mammoth, and caballid horses. Notable restricted fauna include the woolly rhino in Siberia (which went no further east than

2200-472: The sea floors of many interglacial shallow seas were exposed, including those of the Bering Strait , the Chukchi Sea to the north, and the Bering Sea to the south. Other land bridges around the world have emerged and disappeared in the same way. Around 14,000 years ago, mainland Australia was linked to both New Guinea and Tasmania , the British Isles became an extension of continental Europe via

2250-607: The south. The arid-adapted species were reduced to minor habitats or became extinct. Beringia constantly transformed its ecosystem as the changing climate affected the environment, determining which plants and animals were able to survive. The land mass could be a barrier as well as a bridge: during colder periods, glaciers advanced and precipitation levels dropped. During warmer intervals, clouds, rain and snow altered soils and drainage patterns. Fossil remains show that spruce , birch and poplar once grew beyond their northernmost range today, indicating that there were periods when

2300-554: The southern regions along the coast of the Shelekhova Bay of the Sea of Okhotsk . The northern regions inland are much colder, where only various shrubs grow, but these are enough to sustain reindeer migration. The mean temperature in winter is −13 °C (9 °F) while the short summers are +12 °C (54 °F). The area they covered before Russian colonization was 301,500 km (116,400 sq mi), roughly corresponding to

2350-706: The supernatural shaman Quikil (Big-Raven), who was created by the Supreme Being as the first man and protector of the Koryak. Big Raven myths are also found in Southeast Alaska in the Tlingit culture, and among the Haida , Tsimshian , and other natives of the Pacific Northwest Coast Amerindians . Koryak lands are mountains and volcanic, covered in mostly Arctic tundra. Coniferous trees lie near

2400-461: The west to the Mackenzie River in the east. The distribution of plants in the genera Erythranthe and Pinus are good examples of this, as very similar genera members are found in Asia and the Americas. During the Pleistocene epoch, global cooling led periodically to the expansion of glaciers and the lowering of sea levels. This created land connections in various regions around the globe. Today,

2450-664: The west, the Alutor to the south (on the isthmus of Kamchatka Peninsula ), the Kerek to the east, and the Chukchi to the northeast. The Koryak are typically split into two groups. The coastal people are called Nemelan (or Nymylan ) meaning 'village dwellers', due to their living in villages. Their lifestyle is based on local fishing and marine mammal hunting. The inland Koryak, reindeer herders, are called Chaucu (or Chauchuven ), meaning 'rich in reindeer'. They are more nomadic , following

2500-512: Was found in both Mongolia and western North America. Relatives of Troodon , Triceratops , and Tyrannosaurus rex all came from Asia. The earliest Canis lupus specimen was a fossil tooth discovered at Old Crow, Yukon , Canada. The specimen was found in sediment dated 1 million YBP, however the geological attribution of this sediment is questioned. Slightly younger specimens were discovered at Cripple Creek Sump, Fairbanks , Alaska, in strata dated 810,000 YBP. Both discoveries point to

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