Snow Goggles

"Snow Goggles"

Considered the world's first sunglasses used 2,000 years ago, invented and adapted from the lifestyle of the Inuit people.

The Inuit, also known as Eskimos, are considered an ancient population possibly descended from Mongoloids and migrated to North America's Arctic region. They settled in areas spanning from Siberia, Alaska, Canada, to Greenland.

Due to the geographical and climatic conditions of the polar region, it experiences cold weather for almost the entire year, with temperatures dropping to nearly -30 degrees Celsius. This leads to the ground and sea being covered with ice and snow.

When sunlight shines on the reflective white snow surface, it creates a glare that impacts the eyes. 

To counteract this, the Inuit people invented eyewear to shield their eyes from both direct sunlight and reflected glare from the snow.

Snow Goggles were crafted from materials like wood, animal bones, walrus tusks, or caribou antlers. 

They were intricately carved into various shapes, with a small slit in the middle corresponding to the eyes. They were designed to fit snugly over the face, and the eye area was often coated with soot or gunpowder to further reduce glare.

This information is sourced from the Archeology Aesthetic page (10 OCT 2023).

Today, the original Snow Goggles have inspired the creation of fashionable sunglasses that better suit modern trends.