Susan Branscombe, 13, of Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, for her question:

WHERE DID THE ESKIMOS COME FROM?

Most scientists believe there was once a land bridge connecting Siberia and what is now Alaska. This is probably how early Eskimos came from northern Asia into Alaska and spread eastward across the northern part of North America.

Scientists also believe that some of the Eskimos moved on to what is now Greenland about 5,000 years ago. Many also settled in what is now Canada.

The first Europeans to meet Eskimos were the Vikings who traveled to Greenland about 1100 A.D. By the 1500s, many explorers were regularly in contact with the Eskimos who were specialists in the art of trapping animals and obtaining furs.

Early Eskimos spoke a language called Eskimo. They never developed a system of writing.