An animal-powered transport mode in which a team of dogs harnessed in a line pulls a sled carrying a driver, passengers or cargo over snow or ice. Dog sledding developed among Arctic and subarctic peoples as a practical way to travel and haul supplies across terrain unsuited to wheeled vehicles, and while snowmobiles have replaced it for most everyday transport in the modern era, it continues in some remote communities and survives widely today as a competitive and recreational sport.
Facts
Core ConcernHauling people and cargo over snow and ice using a team of dogs harnessed to pull a sled. 1 Origin YearA 2017 study cited by Wikipedia found the domestic dog present at Zhokhov Island in northeastern Siberia about 9,000 years before that study, already selectively bred toward a sled dog standard alongside a separate hunting dog standard; -7000 approximates that figure as a calendar year, the same years-before-present to calendar-year convention this atlas already uses for Animal-Powered Transport and Camel Transport. Wikipedia's own lead section states sled dogs have been used in the Arctic for at least 8,000 years, a more conservative round figure. Connections
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Sled Dog
WikipediaHistory, Russia
A 2017 study showed that 9,000 years ago, the domestic dog was present at what is now Zhokhov Island, northeastern Siberia, which at that time was connected to the mainland.
Lead section
A sled dog is a dog trained and used to pull a land vehicle in harness, most commonly a sled over snow.
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