thumb|[[Sod house remains in Utqiagvik]]
The Birnirk culture was a prehistoric Inuit culture dating from the 6th to 12th centuries of the Chukchi Peninsula of Russia and the Alaska North Slope. The Birnirk culture first appeared on the American side of the Bering Strait, descending from the Old Bering Sea/Okvik culture and preceding the Thule people; it is distinguished by its advanced harpoon and marine technology. Birnirk settlements are thought to have been small, with only a few families living in a settlement at a time.