Inuit hunter Silas Sandgreen made this map for the Library of Congress in 1925. The map represents the Crown Prince Islands, in Disko Bay, on the west coast of Greenland. Sandgreen carved driftwood to signify the islands’ landmasses, painting the material to mark areas of rocks and vegetation. The driftwood is sewn to sealskin.

Inuit also carved portable wooden “maps” to be used while navigating coastal waters. These pieces, which were small enough to be carried in a mitten, represented coastlines in a continuous line, up one side of the wood and down the other. The maps were compact, buoyant, and could be read in the dark.

Map by Silas Sandgreen for the Library of Congress in 1925 via Slate for the full article and additional photography.