Editing History of skiing (section)

==Early archaeological evidence==

[[File:Skidmuseet (02).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Kalvträskskidan]] at the ski exhibition in [[Umeå]] ]]

The oldest information about skiing is based on archaeological evidence. Two regions present the earliest evidence of skis and their use: northern Russia, where the oldest fragments of ski-like objects, dating from about 6300&ndash;5000 BCE were found about 1,200&nbsp;km northeast of [[Moscow]] at Lake Sindor,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Burov |first=Grigori |title=Mesolithic wood artefacts from the site of Vis I in the European North-east of the USSR |journal=The Mesolithic in Europe |year=1985 |pages=392–395}}</ref> and the Altaic region of modern China where 5000-year-old paintings suggest the aboriginal use of skis, though this is still highly debated. <ref name=":0">{{cite journal |last1=Tacon |first1=Paul SC |last2=Huisheng |first2=Tang |last3=Aubert |first3=Maxime |title=Naturalistic animals and hand stencils in the rock art of Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region, Northwest China |journal=Rock Art Research: The Journal of the Australian Rock Art Research |date=March 2016 |volume=33 |issue=1 |url=https://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=050400631479028;res=IELAPA |access-date=8 July 2018}}</ref>

===Rock carvings===

{{see also|Rock carvings at Alta|Onega petroglyphs}}

[[File:Belomorsk petroglyphs18.jpg|thumb|Skiers, [[Petroglyphs of Lake Onega and the White Sea|White Sea rock carvings]], before 2000 BCE]]

The earliest Scandinavian examples of skiing date to 3000 or 4000 [[BCE]] with primitive carvings. An image of a skier holding a single [[Ski pole|pole]] or an ax with both hands, is found in [[Norway]]. The Rødøy carving shows skis of equal length. A rock carving at Norway, from about 1000 or 500 BCE depicts a skier seemingly about to shoot with bow and arrow, with skis positioned in an angle (rather than parallel) to offer good support.<ref name="Weinstock">{{cite journal |url=https://thenorthernreview.ca/index.php/nr/article/view/160/154 |title=The Role of Skis and Skiing in the Settlement of Early Scandinavia |last=Weinstock |first=J. |date=2005 |journal=Northern Review |number=25/26 |page=180}}</ref> [[Rock drawings]] in Norway dated at 4000 BCE<ref>{{cite web|title=Bølamannen|url=http://www.steinkjer-kommune.net/eggevandring/egge/index.php?art_id=310 |website=Steinkjer Kunnskapsportal |access-date=25 September 2012}}</ref> depict a man on skis holding a stick. Near the [[White Sea]] in [[Russia]], rock carvings were discovered in 1926 and dated to 2000 or 2500 [[BCE]]. One of the [[Petroglyphs of Lake Onega and the White Sea|White Sea carvings]] depicts hunting of big game with hunters on equal length skis. The hunters apparently used their bow and spear as poles.<ref name="Weinstock" />

5000-year-old wall paintings suggest skiing had also evolved separately in the [[Xinjiang]] region by the [[Tuvans|Tuvan people]]; however, this continues to be debated.<ref name=":0"/><ref>{{cite news |last=Krichko|first=Kade|title=China's Stone Age Skiers and History's Harsh Lessons |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=19 April 2017|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/19/sports/skiing/skiing-china-cave-paintings.html|access-date=9 May 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Larsen|first=Nils|title=Origin Story: Where did skiing begin?|website=International Skiing History Association|date=12 June 2017|url=https://www.skiinghistory.org/news/origin-story-where-did-skiing-begin|access-date=9 May 2020}}</ref>

===Ski samples===

The first primitive Scandinavian ski was found in a peat [[bog]] in Hoting in [[Jämtland County]] in [[Sweden]]; it dates back to 4500 or 2500 BCE. In 1938 a ski was found from [[Salla]], Finland that has been dated back to 3245 BCE. Noted examples are the [[Kalvträskskidan]] ski, found in [[Sweden]] and dated to 3300 BCE, and the [[Vefsn Municipality|Vefsn]] [[Nordland]] ski, found in [[Norway]] and dated to 3200 BCE.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://snl.no/ski/historikk |title=Ski |website=[[Store norske leksikon]] |access-date=May 25, 2013}}</ref> There are some 20 findings of ancient well-preserved skis found in drained bogs in Norway, indicating that skis have been widely used in Norway, particularly Northern Norway, since prehistoric times. Skis have also been uncovered in ancient graves.<ref name=Gotaas>{{cite book |last=Gotaas |first=Thor |date=2011 |title=Norge: skisportens vugge |location=Oslo |publisher=Font forlag |isbn=978-8-28169-091-2}}</ref>{{pn|date=April 2025}} In 2014, a ski complete with leather bindings emerged from a [[glacier]] in the [[Reinheimen National Park|Reinheimen]] mountains, Norway. The binding is at a small elevated area in the middle of the 172&nbsp;cm long and 14,5&nbsp;cm wide ski. According to the report the ski is some 1300 years old. Many organic artifacts have been well preserved for several thousand years by the stable glaciers of [[Oppland]] county and emerge when glaciers recede.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nrk.no/ho/varmere-klima-avslorer-fortida-1.11971057 |title=Fant 1300 år gammel ski i Reinheimen |last1=Nordrum |first1=Ivar Arne |last2=Bratterud |first2=Liv-Iren |name-list-style=amp |date=October 6, 2014 |website=NRK News |access-date=October 11, 2014}}</ref> A ski excavated in [[Greenland]] is dated to 1010.<ref>{{cite web |last=Olsen |first=Jan |title=Wiping the snow off Greenland's oldest ski|url=http://www.iol.co.za/scitech/technology/wiping-the-snow-off-greenland-s-oldest-ski-1.224227#.UGEBoaTyba4 |website=[[Independent Online]] |access-date=25 September 2012}}</ref> Based on findings in the Nordic countries and elsewhere, researchers have identified at least three main types of ski: arctic, southern and central Nordic. The arctic type was short and covered with fur, and used from northern Japan in the east to [[Ob river]] in the west. The Sami people probably brought this type to the Nordic region. The southern type had one short and one long ski, and was used in forest areas of Southern Scandinavia and the Baltic countries. The central Nordic type also had one short with fur (the ''andor'') and one long, and was used in large parts of Norway, Sweden and Finland.<ref name=Gotaas />

In 2021, a well-preserved ski at {{convert|187|cm}} length and up to {{convert|17|cm}} wide was found near a shrinking glacier at an elevation of 1000 meters in [[Reinheimen National Park|Reinheimen]] (at a mountain plateau between [[Lesjaskogsvatnet]] and [[Skjåk]]), Norway. It is estimated to be 1300 years old (that is, from around the year 700). A ski found in 2014 at the same location (some five meters from last find) is believed to belong to the same pair so that the two skis constitute the world's oldest complete set. The skis are made of birch and have leather bindings.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nrk.no/innlandet/1300-ar-gammel-ski-funnet-i-reinheimen-nasjonalpark-1.15676756 |title=Nå er 1300 år gammelt skipar komplett. Dette er verdenshistorie |last1=Malmo |first1=Marianne Duun |last2=Sørenes |first2=Arne |last3=Vollan |first3=Mette |date=5 October 2021 |website=NRK |access-date=15 October 2021}}</ref>

===Writings===

The earliest known texts that mention skiing were written by a [[Western Han dynasty|Western Han Dynasty]] era Chinese scholar estimated between 206 BCE and 225 BCE, and referred to people who had skied in the [[Altai Mountains]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Origin Story: Where did skiing begin? |url=https://www.skiinghistory.org/news/origin-story-where-did-skiing-begin |website=International Skiing History Association |access-date=2023-03-01}}</ref> Another ancient text referring to skiing was made by the Byzantine scholar [[Procopius]] in the sixth century CE, who wrote of a people who skied that he called the “scrithiphinnoi,” or “sliding Sami".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chinese or Norwegian: the History of Skiing |url=http://ultimatehistoryproject.com/history-of-skiing.html |website=The Ultimate History Project |access-date=2023-03-01}}</ref>