Although dog sledding may have existed before, the oldest archaeological evidence has been dated to around 1,000 A.D. As far as we know, the native and Inuit people in the northern areas invented dog sledding. Dog-sled teams were much smaller than they are today, and mainly used as a mode of transportation. This practice was also appealing to polar adventurers in quest of the poles.
Dog sledding has a sports aspect too. The most well-known race takes place in Nome, Alaska. This route is famous due to the 1925 Serum Run, also known as the Great Race of Mercy, when Leonhard Seppala, a Norwegian native, delivered diphtheria medicine to the struggling town.