Using archaeological, historical, and ethnographic analysis of Norse and Inuit toys and miniatures, this paper argues that legacies of childhood learning can create limits to climatic change adaptation and provide lessons from the past relevant today. In Medieval Greenland, Norse children played with objects that would have familiarised them with the expected norms and behaviours of farming, household activities, sailing and conflict, but not with hunting, which was a key omission given the fundamental importance of wild resources to successful climatic adaptation in Greenland after the climate shocks of the mid-13 century. The restricted range of toys combined with an instructional form of learning suggests a high degree of path dependence that limited adaptation to climatic change, and we know the Norse settlement ended with the conjunctures of the 15 century that included climatic change. Inuit children, by contrast, learnt highly adapted behaviours and technologies through objects that taught locally tuned hunting skills. Inuit approaches that prioritised unstructured learning time aided the development of creative skills and problem-solving capabilities, and the Inuit successfully navigated the climatic changes of the Little Ice Age in Greenland. This insight from the past has implications for our approaches to childhood learning in the 21 century and the unfolding climate crisis. Innovative approaches to childhood teaching and learning in the context of climate change adaptation could provide effective solutions, on a timescale commensurate with that of projected climate impacts.

中文翻译：

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儿童适应气候变化学习的遗产


本文通过对挪威和因纽特玩具和微缩模型的考古、历史和民族志分析，认为童年学习的遗产可能会限制气候变化的适应，并为今天提供相关的过去经验教训。在中世纪的格陵兰岛，挪威儿童所玩的物体可以让他们熟悉农业、家庭活动、航海和冲突的预期规范和行为，但不玩狩猎，考虑到野生资源对成功的气候的根本重要性，这是一个关键的遗漏。 13世纪中叶气候冲击后格陵兰岛的适应。有限的玩具范围与教学形式的学习相结合表明了高度的路径依赖，限制了对气候变化的适应，而且我们知道挪威人的定居点随着 15 世纪气候变化的紧要关头而结束。相比之下，因纽特儿童通过教授当地狩猎技能的物体来学习高度适应的行为和技术。因纽特人优先考虑非结构化学习时间的方法有助于发展创造力和解决问题的能力，因纽特人成功地应对了格陵兰岛小冰河时代的气候变化。这种来自过去的见解对我们 21 世纪的儿童学习方法和正在发生的气候危机具有重要意义。在适应气候变化的背景下，儿童教学和学习的创新方法可以在与预计的气候影响相匹配的时间范围内提供有效的解决方案。