🌅 These Sticks Are Maps

Author

Sunrise Stat
September 18, 2025

8.5 inches - The length of a highly detailed, hand-carved wooden map of Greenland’s east coast made by Inuit people in the late 19th century.

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WHAT TO KNOW

  • The Ammassalik maps are a collection of three highly detailed wooden maps of Greenland’s east coast given to Danish explorer Gustav Holm by local Inuit people in 1885. The maps, ranging in length from 5.5 inches to roughly 8.5 inches, are carved in the shape of the icy coastline and contain a variety of helpful information, including place names and locations where travelers need to carry their kayak overland to reach the next inlet.

WHY IT MATTERS

  • While many mistakenly liken the maps to archaic, waterproof GPS devices, historians say the maps were actually used as storytelling aids, not navigational tools. Inuit people would carve these maps to illustrate information about the people, places, and things within an accompanying story, much like a drawing in the sand or snow.

CONNECT THE DOTS

  • Experts say the maps are comparable to 3D variations of modern straight-line diagrams or “strip maps,” which are widely used today to map roads and reference points for subway systems and highways. The maps forgo geographic accuracy in favor of clarity, using straight lines and evenly spaced markers to help travelers navigate their route. While not exactly a straight-line diagram, Harry Beck's iconic 1933 London Underground map uses many of the same features to simplify the sprawling Tube network.