Chapter VIII: Part 8

Diameter antero-posterior at middle, right cm 3.25
Diameter lateral at middle cm 1.95
Index at middle _60_

The bone is distinctly platycnaemic, as the femora are platymeric and the humeri platybrachic, a harmony of characters which is often met with in the continental Indian.

ADDITIONAL PARTS

These include four ribs, the atlas and two lumbar vertebræ. The first rib approaches the semicircular in type and is rather large, indicating a spacious chest. Otherwise there is nothing special.

A comparison of the long bones of this interesting skeleton with those of the later Indians from the same and near-by localities as well as with those of the western Eskimo (see table, p. 160) shows a number of striking conditions. The length of the bones of the skeleton is far above the mean of both those of Indians and the Eskimo, indicating a stature of at least 10 centimeters (4 inches) higher. In none of their characteristics are the bones near to those of the Eskimo, making it doubly certain that the subject was not of that affiliation. Compared with those of the later Indians of the same territory, the bones show in one line remarkable differences, in another remarkable likenesses. The differences concern all the relative proportions of the shafts--the bones of the old skeleton give without exception indices that are markedly lower; they are distinctly more platybrachic, platymeric, and platycnaemic. But the more basic humero-femoral and radio-humeral indices are practically the same; showing fundamental identity. The humero-femoral index is especially important in this case. It is exceptionally high in the Yukon Indians, due to a relatively long humerus, and the same condition is seen in the old skeleton. It seems safe, therefore, to conclude that the owner of the old skeleton was not only an Indian but an Indian of the same physical stock from which were derived the later Indians of the Yukon; but he was evidently of an earlier and different tribe or of a purer derivation than those who followed. To more fully establish and then trace this type, both as to its derivation and extension, will be tasks of future importance.

YUKON INDIANS: MAIN LONG BONES

SEX: MALES[39]

-----------------------------+----------------+-------------+--------
| Yukon Indians | |
+--------+-------+ |
Paired bones | Older| From|Miscellaneous| Western
|skeleton|Russian| North| Eskimos
| at| times| American|
|Bonasila| | Indians|
-----------------------------+--------+-------+-------------+--------
Humerus: | (2)| (10)| [40](378)|[41](76)
| | | |
Mean length | 35.55| 31.17| 31.8| 30.88
| | | |
At middle-- | | | |
| | | |
Diameter, major | 2.45| 2.38| 2.22| 2.42
| | | |
Diameter, minor | 1.68| 1.67| 1.63| 1.82
| | | |
Index | _66.4_| _70_| _73.1_| _75.2_
| | | |
Radius: | (1)| (10)| (378)| (76)
| | | |
Mean length | n. 27| 23.61| 24.7| 22.85
| | | |
Radio-humeral index | n.| _75.7_| _77.7_| _74_
| _75.5_| | |
| | | |
Femur: | (2)| (14)| [40](902)| (84)
| | | |
Mean length (bycondylar) | 48.2| 41.92| 42.7| 42.70
| | | |
Humero-femoral index | _74.3_| _74.5_| n. _72.5_|n. _-72_
| | | |
At middle-- | | | |
| | | |
Diameter, | 3.12| 2.96| 2.95| 3.03
antero-posterior, maximum| | | |
| | | |
Diameter, lateral | 2.57| 2.58| 2.58| 2.71
| | | |
Index | _82.4_| _87.1_| _87.3_| _89.5_
| | | |
At upper flattening-- | | | |
| | | |
Diameter, maximum | 3.60| 3.25| 3.27| 3.37
| | | |
Diameter, minimum | 2.18| 2.30| 2.42| 2.48
| | | |
Index | _60.4_| _70.7_| _74_| _73.5_
| | | |
Tibia: | (1)| (14)| (324)| (84)
| | | |
Mean length | | 34.19| 36.9| 33.61
| | | |
Tibio-femoral index | | 81.5| 84.4| 78.7
| | | |
At middle-- | | | |
| | | |
Diameter, | 3.25| 3.04| 3.28| 3.10
antero-posterior, maximum| | | |
| | | |
Diameter, lateral | 1.95| 2.| 2.16| 2.12
| | | |
Index | _60_| _66_| _65.8_| _68.5_
-----------------------------+--------+-------+-------------+--------

FOOTNOTES:

[39] See also data in writer's "Physical Anthropology of the Lenape," etc., Bull. 62, Bur. Amer. Ethn., Washington, 1916; and his "Anthropology of Florida," Fla. Hist. Soc. Pub. No. 1, Deland, Fla., 1922.

[40] These numbers apply to length only; under the other items the numbers are in some cases smaller, in some larger. The differences are due to defects in some of the old bones.

[41] See also data on p. 165.

THE YUKON ESKIMO

THE LIVING

As with the Indians farther up the river, the necessities of the writer's journey did not permit more than visual observations, but in 1927 Henry B. Collins, jr., succeeded in measuring six adult males at Marshall.

In general, the people of the Yukon delta and from this to Paimute are true Eskimo. By this is meant that in the majority of individuals they can readily be told as a type apart from the Indian and belonging plainly to that of the extensive family of the Eskimo. But when the differences are to be defined the task is not easy; some of the distinguishing marks, though well appreciated, are somewhat intangible.

The physical differences are essentially those of the physiognomy. The head is neither narrow nor scaphoid, or even very high. The Indian face is more prominent and more sculptured; that of the Eskimo appears fuller, especially in the lower part, and flatter. Part of this is due to the bony structure, part to the differing amounts of fat. An eversion of the angles of the lower jaw, which is relatively frequent and sometimes excessive in the Eskimo male while almost absent in the Indian, may give the Eskimo face almost a square appearance. Take with this the seemingly somewhat low Eskimo forehead, the not very widely open and somewhat on the whole more slanting eye, and the characteristic Eskimo nose with its rather narrow and not prominent nasal bridge, the ridiculous monk-like cut of the hair (in the older males), the often rather full lips with, in the males, a tuft of sparse mustache above each corner of the mouth; add to all this a mostly smiling or ready-to-smile "full-moon" expression, and it would be impossible to take the subject for anything else than an Eskimo. The Indian's face is more set, less fat, in the males at least, less broad below, with seemingly a higher forehead, sensibly made-up hair, not seldom a bit more mustache, and a nose that generally is both broader and more prominent.

But the differences are less marked in the women and still less so in the children, especially where similarly combed and clothed. And there are, particularly on the Yukon, not a few of both Indian and Eskimo who even an expert is at a loss where to class. They may be due to old mixtures; no new ones are taking place; but it seems that there may be present another important factor, that of a far-back related parentage.

In the color of the skin and eyes, in the color and nature of the hair, there is no marked difference between the two peoples of the Yukon. In stature the Eskimos are slightly higher.

MEASUREMENTS ON LIVING YUKON ESKIMO

The exact provenience of the six men measured at Marshall is uncertain, but they seemingly were all from the lower Yukon and all were apparently full-blood Eskimo. But the measurements are rather peculiar. They are given, for comparison, with those of the western Eskimo in general (p. 165). They approach nearest to those of the Togiak Eskimo, well down below the Kuskokwim. They show a higher stature than all of their relations farther south, except the Togiaks, and they have a rounder head. They are, in fact, moderate brachycephals, a very unexpected form in this strain of people. The Togiaks also are brachycephalic. The vault is relatively somewhat higher than it is in the other groups, though the height is not excessive. The nose is slightly lower as well as narrower than it is in all the other contingents. The face is close to those of St. Lawrence Island. The ear is perceptibly smaller and especially narrower than elsewhere, but perhaps the age factor enters into the case. The hand is much like that of Togiak and St. Lawrence, the index being identical.

The brachycephaly of the group for the present is hard to explain. It can not be ascribed to a mixture with the river Indians, for these, as has been seen from the skulls, were meso- rather than brachycephalic. There is need here for further inquiry.

SKELETAL REMAINS OF YUKON ESKIMO

As with the Indian, such remains are still rare. Some measurements of three "Smithsonian Mahlemute" skulls from the Yukon, collected by William H. Dall, are given by Jeffries Wyman, and probably the same specimens appear in the Otis Catalogue, the measurements in which are regrettably not very reliable. These specimens can not now be located, and the scarce data are of but little value. The three skulls examined by Wyman were all mesocephalic.

It is now possible to report on 40 adult skulls from the lower Yukon and the delta. An abstract of the measurements is given in the next table. The data indicate a considerable local variation. All the skulls, or very nearly all, are mesocephalic; but they differ considerably in height and in all the facial features. The Pilot Station group, from the apex of the delta, and hence the midst of the Eskimo territory on the Yukon, is especially peculiar. Both the vault and the face, in the series as a whole, range from low to high, and much the same is true of the height of the nose and that of the orbits, while the palate is exceptionally broad, giving a low index, all of which would seem to indicate instability or conditions in change, together probably with admixtures from farther up the river. We need more material, particularly from the stretch of the river between the apex of the delta and Paimute.

YUKON ESKIMO CRANIA

UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM:

------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------
| 17 males
+---------+---------+---------+---------
| Pilot | "Lower | Kashunok| Kotlik
| Station | Yukon" | (of | and
| | | Yukon) |Pastolik
------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------
Number of adult skulls | (3) | (1) | (2) | (11)
Collector | | [42] | [43] | [44]
Vault: | | | |
Length | 18.90 | 18.8 | 18.45 | 18.44
Breadth | 15.07 | 14.2 | 14.10 | 13.90
Height | 13.77 | 13.7 | 13.65 | 13.60
Module | 15.91 | 15.57 | 15.40 | 15.31
Capacity |1,660 |1,535 |1,468 |1,486
Cranial index | _79.7_ | _75.5_ | _76.4_ | _75.4_
Mean height, index | _81.6_ | _83_ | _83.9_ | _84.1_
Height-breadth, index | _91.4_ | _96.5_ | _96.8_ | _97.8_
Face: | | | |
Menton-nasion | 12.40 | | | 12.67
Alveolar point-nasion | 7.85 | 7.1 | 8.25 | 7.78
Diameter | | | |
bizygomatic maximum | 14.97 | 14.4 | 14.25 | 14.13
Facial index, total | _82.4_ | | | _90.1_
Facial index, upper | _52.2_ | _49.3_ | _57.9_ _55_
Orbits: | | | |
Mean height | 3.58 | 3.55 | 3.80 | 3.67
Mean breadth | 4.07 | 4 | 3.91 | 3.98
Mean index | _87.7_ | _88.7_ | _97.1_ | _92.3_
Nose: | | | |
Height | 5.27 | 5.05 | 5.65 | 5.53
Breadth | 2.57 | 2.15 | 2.28 | 2.51
Index | _48.7_ | _42.6_ | _40.3_ | _45.4_
Upper alveolar arch: | | | |
Length | 5.70 | 5.4 | 5.4 | 5.57
Breadth | 7.40 | 6.6 | 6.65 | 6.70
Index | _77_ | _81.8_ | _81.2_ | _83.4_
Basi-facial diameters: | | | |
Basion-alveolar point | 10.35 |n. 10.3 | 10.15 | 10.40
Basion-subnasal point | 9.07 | 9.4 | 9.10 | 9.17
Basion-nasion | 10.60 | 10.8 | 10.15 | 10.41
Facial angle | 70 | 74 | 66 | 68
Alveolar angle | 55 | 60 | 60 | 52
Height of lower jaw at | | | |
symphysis | 3.63 | | | 3.75
------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------

------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------
| 23 females
+---------+---------+---------+---------
| Paimute | Pilot | Kashunok| Kotlik
| | Station | mouth | and
| | | | Pastolik
------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------
Number of adult skulls | (1) | (3) | (1) | (18)
Collector | [44] | | [43] | [44]
Vault: | | | |
Length | 18.7 | 17.80 | 18.7 | 17.72
Breadth | 14 | 14 | 13.9 | 3.62
Height |n. 13.5 | 13.20 | 12.4 | 13.04
Module | 15.40 | 15 | 15 | 14.81
Capacity | |1,442 | |1,359
Cranial index | _74.9_ | _78.7_ | _74.3_ | _76.8_
Mean height, index |_n. 82.3_| _83_ | _76.1_ | _83.2_
Height-breadth, index |_n. 96.4_| _94.3_ | _89.2_ | _95.8_
Face: | | | |
Menton-nasion | | 11.90 | | 11.82
Alveolar point-nasion | | 7.40 | | 7.49
Diameter | | | |
bizygomatic maximum | | 13.47 | 13.90 | 13.26
Facial index, total | | _89.1_ | | _89_
Facial index, upper | | _55_ | | _56.5_
Orbits: | | | |
Mean height | | 3.54 | 3.50 | 3.62
Mean breadth | | 3.89 | 3.80 | 3.86
Mean index | | _91_ | _92.1_ | _94.1_
Nose: | | | |
Height | | 5 | 5.50 | 5.19
Breadth | | 2.33 | 2.45 | 2.31
Index | | _46.7_ | _44.5_ | _44.5_
Upper alveolar arch: | | | |
Length | | 5.40 | | 5.45
Breadth | | 6.60 | | 6.38
Index | | _81.8_ | | _85.4_
Basi-facial diameters: | | | |
Basion-alveolar point | | 10.17 | | 10.09
Basion-subnasal point | | 8.80 | 8.90 | 8.86
Basion-nasion | | 9.97 | 10.20 | 9.98
Facial angle | | 67 | | 67
Alveolar angle | | 52 | | 53
Height of lower jaw at | | | |
symphysis | | 3.67 | | 3.56
------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------

FOOTNOTES:

[42] Howgate & Schwatka Exp.

[43] Rev. P. I. Delon.

[44] A. Hrdlička.

SKELETAL PARTS OF THE YUKON ESKIMO

The next table gives the measurements of the long bones in both sexes in the Yukon Indian (for comparison), in the Yukon Eskimo, and in the western Eskimo, the latter coming mainly from the coast south of the Yukon and from the Nunivak and St. Lawrence Islands. The Yukon Eskimo material, collected from intact burials by the writer, is unfortunately limited to the northern mouth of the river. The skeletons from St. Lawrence Island were collected on the Smithsonian expedition to the place in 1912 by Riley D. Moore, 1927 expedition by H. B. Collins, jr., and T. D. Stewart, all of the National Museum.

The Yukon Eskimo show perceptibly longer bones than do either the Indians or the southeastern and midwestern Eskimo, indicating a somewhat taller stature.

The humerus in the males is less broad than either in the Indians or the midwestern and southwestern Eskimo and has as a consequence high shaft index; but in the females the index in the Yukon and western Eskimo series is identical. The radius is relatively even shorter in the Yukon that it is in the other Eskimo, giving low radio-humeral index.

The femur is notably less platymeric in the male and slightly less so in the female Yukon Eskimo than it is in both the Indians and the rest of the southwestern and midwestern Eskimo, giving a higher index at the upper flattening. The meaning of these facts is not obvious and they may undergo some modification with more material.

As to strength, measured by the mean diameter of the shafts, the Yukon Eskimo in comparison to the southwestern and midwestern show a slightly weaker humerus, and in the males a slightly weaker femur at middle, but in the males again, a slightly stronger tibia. If, however, the mean diameters of the bones are taken in relation to the length of the bones, then in both sexes and in all the parts the southwestern and midwestern Eskimo are slightly stronger. This would seem to indicate more exertion, with harder life, among the coastal and insular than among the river Eskimo. As a matter of fact Kotlik and the near-by Pastolik, from which our skeletons came, were favorably situated at the northern mouth of the river.

The Yukon Eskimo females, as compared with the males, have a somewhat weaker and especially somewhat flatter humerus, with a consequently lower shaft index; they have relatively even a shorter radius, giving a lower radio-humeral index; their humerus itself is relatively short, giving a lower humero-femoral index; their femur is relatively somewhat flatter at the upper flattening, giving a lower index of platymery; while their tibia is relatively less strong antero-posteriorly, resulting in an index that is more than four points higher than that of the males.

YUKON INDIAN, YUKON ESKIMO, AND WESTERN ESKIMO LONG
BONES[45]

--------------+--------------------------+--------------------------
| Male | Female
--------------+------+------+------------+------+------+------------
Paired bones | Yukon| Yukon|Southwestern| Yukon| Yukon|Southwestern
of the two |Indian|Eskimo| and|Indian|Eskimo| and
sides | | | midwestern| | | midwestern
| | | Eskimo| | | Eskimo
| | | | | |
Humerus: | (10)| (16)| (143)| (4)| (16)| (136)
| | | | | |
Mean length | 31.17| 32.10| 30.69| 28.12| 28.31| 28.40
(right | | | | | |
and left) | | | | | |
| | | | | |
At middle-- | | | | | |
| | | | | |
Diameter, | 2.38| 2.83| 2.40| 1.90| 2.07| 2.10
major | | | | | |
| | | | | |
Diameter, | 1.67| 1.80| 1.80| 1.40| 1.51| 1.54
minor | | | | | |
| | | | | |
Index | _70_|_78.2_| _75.1_|_73.7_|_73.2_| _73.2_
| | | | | |
Radius: | (10)| (16)| (98)| (4)| (16)| (109)
| | | | | |
Mean length | 23.61| 23.44| 22.90| 21.10| 20.18| 20.50
| | | | | |
Radio-humeral |_75.7_| _73_| _74.5_| _75_|_71.3_| _72.2_
index | | | | | |
| | | | | |
Femur: | (14)| (22)| (195)| (8)| (27)| (132)
| | | | | |
Mean length | 41.92| 43.78| 42.50| 40.15| 41.11| 39.36
(bicond.) | | | | | |
| | | | | |
Humero-femoral|_74.5_| _n.| _72.2_| _73_| _n.| _72.2_
index | | 73_| | | 69_|
| | | | | |
At middle-- | | | | | |
| | | | | |
Diameter | 2.96| 3.05| 3.08| 2.59| 2.74| 2.69
antero- | | | | | |
posterior | | | | | |
maximum | | | | | |
| | | | | |
Diameter | 2.58| 2.67| 2.70| 2.45| 2.44| 2.46
lateral | | | | | |
| | | | | |
Index |_87.1_|_87.6_| _87.6_|_94.7_|_88.8_| _91.5_
| | | | | |
At upper | | | | | |
flattening-- | | | | | |
| | | | | |
Diameter, | 3.25| 3.31| 3.35| 2.84| 3.02| 3.02
maximum | | | | | |
| | | | | |
Diameter, | 2.30| 2.57| 2.51| 2.16| 2.27| 2.26
minimum | | | | | |
| | | | | |
Index |_70.7_|_77.4_| _75_|_75.8_|_75.4_| _74.5_
| | | | | |
Tibia: | (14)| (22)| (141)| (8)| (27)| (147)
| | | | | |
Mean length | 34.19| 35.14| 33.86| 31.97| 32.01| 31.32
(I. A.) | | | | | |
| | | | | |
Tibio-femoral |_81.5_|_80.3_| _79.7_|_79.6_|_79.8_| _79.6_
index | | | | | |
| | | | | |
At middle-- | | | | | |
| | | | | |
Diameter | 3.04| 3.16| 3.12| 2.72| 2.61| 2.71
antero- | | | | | |
posterior | | | | | |
maximum | | | | | |
| | | | | |
Diameter, | 2| 2.15| 2.12| 1.82| 1.90| 1.89
lateral | | | | | |
| | | | | |
Index | _66_|_68.3_| _67.9_|_66.9_|_72.8_| _69.9_
--------------+------+------+------------+------+------+------------

FOOTNOTES:

[45] See also data on p. 160.

NOTES ON THE ARCHEOLOGY OF THE WESTERN ESKIMO REGION

Archeological work in the vast area of the western Eskimo is still in its infancy. Until the 1926 Smithsonian expedition nothing whatever had been done in this line in the Eskimo parts of the southwestern coasts of Alaska[46] or on the Kuskokwim or Yukon Rivers.

Some time between 1877 and 1881 E. W. Nelson made limited excavations on St. Michael Island[47] (see p. 170) and also dug on Whale Island.

In 1912 V. Stefánsson excavated at Barrow.[48] Having two months to spend at this place he engaged numerous Eskimo of the village and had them excavate the native village sites in the neighborhood. He says (p. 388): "It was a small army that turned out to dig wherever there was a ruin or a kitchen midden, and they worked energetically and well. While the excavations were not done as methodically and scientifically as could have been wished, still we were able to get from them a collection of over 20,000 archaeological specimens within the space of six weeks. This collection (which is now safely stored in the American Museum of Natural History) brings out many significant and some revolutionary ideas with regard to the prehistoric history of the Eskimo. My method was to dig as much as possible myself, and to go around as best I could to see the others at work. In many cases I was able to see the exact position from which the important finds were taken." The specimens have since in part been described by Wissler.[49] Stefánsson brought also some archeological specimens from Point Hope, where, however, no excavations were made; and collected a valuable series of crania from Point Barrow.

In 1917-19 excavations near Barrow were conducted by W. B. Van Valin, leader of the John Wanamaker expedition to northwestern Alaska, for the University Museum at Philadelphia. The excavations were made in some mounds located about 8 miles southwest of Barrow and about 1,000 yards back from the beach on the tundra, and uncovered six old igloos containing, aside from many cultural objects, the skeletal remains of 83 individuals. These remains have since been found to be those of an intrusive group of people and to be of special interest.[50]

In 1924 Rasmussen during the last parts of his great journey gathered numerous archeological specimens at Point Hope and from other localities along the west coasts of Alaska.

In 1926, finally, the year of my survey, some careful initial excavations, with very interesting results, were carried on at Wales and on the Little Diomede Island by Dr. D. Jenness, of the National Museum of Canada, Ottawa. A preliminary report on the results of this work has been published in the annual report of the National Museum of Canada for 1926.

Besides such more professional work a good deal of archeological collection has been done in the regions under consideration by local people, particularly traders and teachers; and the demand for specimens has made assiduous excavators of some of the Eskimo themselves, particularly at Point Hope and at St. Lawrence Island.

Beginning with the north, the first white man to be mentioned in this connection is Charles Brower, the well-known trader at Barrow. Mr. Brower has not only aided all the explorers who have reached this northernmost point, but he has also been directly instrumental in excavating and the making of archeological collections, though, regrettably, some of these have been scattered.

During 1925-26 there lived at Point Hope a very active and interesting man, sent there by the Fox Film Co. to photograph the Eskimo--Mr. Merle La Voy. La Voy, whom I met at Point Hope and who for a time became our fellow-passenger on the _Bear_, had not only succeeded remarkably in his own line, but had also amassed during his stay a large archeological collection. He did not excavate himself, and unfortunately paid no attention to the scientific side of the case; but by offering the natives sugar, tea, chocolate, chewing gum, tobacco, etc. in exchange for specimens, he so stimulated them that they engaged most assiduously in the excavation, or rather picking over as they thawed, of their old ruins, and brought him thousands of objects, some of which are of considerable interest. At the time of my visit there were several barrels full of specimens, largely of stone and ivory. Skulls and bones, regrettably, were neglected and reburied in the débris. Later this collection was transported to San Francisco, where it remains at the date of this writing, in Mr. La Voy's possession.

At Kotzebue Mr. Tom Berryman, the trader, has made some collections of Eskimo archeological material, from which I benefited for the National Museum; and the local teacher, Mr. C. S. Replogle, informed me that he had a large collection at his home in the States.

At Nome I found a valuable lot of specimens in fossil ivory, pottery, and stone, in the possession of the well-known Lomen brothers, members of one of the foremost families in Alaska. The best parts of this collection I was fortunate to secure for exhibit in the United States National Museum.

A large and valuable collection of western Eskimo archeological material was made some years ago by Dr. Daniel Neuman. A part of this collection is in the museum at Juneau; the whereabouts of the rest and of Doctor Neuman himself I was unable to discover. There are several collections of archeological material from the western Eskimo region at Seattle and San Francisco, but none represents scientific excavation.

The names of Joe Bernard, Prof. H. N. Sverdrup, and O. W. Geist should be mentioned in this connection, all having collected archeological objects in the western Eskimo region. Many specimens of value collected by these men and others are in various museums or in private hands in Fairbanks, along the west coast or in Europe.

My own small part in the archeology of Bering Sea and the northwestern coast of Alaska was, as already stated, mainly that of making a survey of conditions. The object was to obtain a good general view of what there was in the line of archeological sites and remains, and thus help to lay a foundation for more organized research in the future. In addition all possible effort was made to collect and obtain specimens of distinct archeological value. Both of these endeavors met with results of some importance.

FOOTNOTES:

[46] Dall, W. H., and Jochelson, W., made, as is well known, valuable excavations in the Aleutian Islands; but the Aleuts were not Eskimos. (See Cat. of Crania, etc., U.S.N.M., 1924, 39.)

[47] Nelson, E. W., The Eskimo About Bering Strait; Eighteenth Ann. Rept. Bur. Amer. Ethn., pt. 1, Washington, 1899, p. 263.

[48] My Life with the Eskimo, N. Y., 1913, 387, 388. See also his The Stefánsson-Anderson Arctic Expedition: Preliminary Ethnological Report. Anthrop. Papers Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., XIV, N. Y., 1914.

[49] Wissler, Clark, Harpoons and Darts in the Stefánsson Collection. Anthrop. Papers Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., N. Y., 1916, XIV, 401-443.

[50] See section devoted to this find, p. 318.

OLD SITES IN THE REGION OF THE WESTERN ESKIMO

The shores of the Alaska rivers, the littoral parts of Alaska, the more northern Bering Sea islands, and those portions of the Asiatic coast that were once or are still occupied by the Eskimo, are strewn with "dead" villages and old sites. Many of these dead villages or sites are historic, having been abandoned, or very nearly so, since the coming of the whites; some are older, in instances doubtless considerably older. Collectively they offer a large, almost wholly virginal and highly important field to American archeology. They may contain much of the secrets of Eskimo origin and of his cultural, as well perhaps as physical, evolution. But these secrets are not to be given up easily. They are held within a perpetually frozen ground, which on one hand preserves everything, but on the other will not yield its contents except to assiduous and prolonged labor.

Ruined or "dead" villages began to be encountered by the earliest Russian and other explorers. Beechey (1826) tells us that between approximately the latitude of Nelson Island and Point Barrow (60° 34´ to 71° 24´ N.) they noticed 19 (Eskimo) villages, some of which were very small and consisted only of a few huts, and others appeared to have been deserted a long time.[51]

Hooper, in 1884, reports Eskimo ruins on the Asiatic side:

"Near the extremity of the cape [Wankarem] we found the ruins of houses similar to those now in use by the Innuits, half underground, with frames of the bones of whales. Probably they were former dwellings of Innuits, who for some reason crossed the straits and attempted to establish themselves on the Siberian side. These houses have been found by different travelers at many places along this coast, and various causes assigned for the abandonment of the attempt to settle here by the Innuits. * * *

"At Cape Wankarem and at other places on the Siberian coast we found the ruins of houses similar to those now in use by the Innuits. These houses, which have been found by different travelers at many places along that coast, are not at all like those used by the Tchuktchis, which, on account of the migratory habits of the reindeer tribes, are so constructed that they can be taken down and put up again at will."[52]

Ray and Murdoch both speak of old sites. The very spot they selected for their observatory at Barrow was one of these. Ray says of it:

"A point about 12 feet above the sea level, lying between the
sea and a small lagoon three-fourths of a mile northeast from
Uglaamie, was finally selected. The soil was firm and as dry as any
unoccupied place in that vicinity, and as it was marked by mounds
of an ancient village would be free from inundation."[53]

And farther on:

"That the ancestors of those people have made it their home for
ages is conclusively shown by the ruins of ancient villages and
winter huts along the seashore and in the interior. On the point
where the station was established were mounds marking the site of
three huts dating back to the time when they had no iron and men
'talked like dogs'; also at Perigniak a group of mounds mark the
site of an ancient village. It stands in the midst of a marsh;
a sinking of the land causing it to be flooded and consequently
abandoned, as it is their custom to select the high and dry points
of land along the seashore for their permanent villages. The fact
of our finding a pair of wooden goggles 26 feet below the surface
of the earth, in the shaft sunk for earth temperatures, points
conclusively to the great lapse of time since these shores were
first peopled by the race of man."[54]

The village of Sidaru, southwest of Cape Belcher, which in Ray's time had a population of about 50, has since gone "dead."

The most direct attention to this subject has been given by Nelson. In his excellent large memoir on "The Eskimo about Bering Strait"[55] he states as follows:

"Ruins of ancient Eskimo villages are common on the lower Yukon and thence along the coast line to Point Barrow. On the Siberian shore they were seen from East Cape along the Arctic coast to Cape Wankarem....

"On the shore of the bay on the southern side of St. Michael Island I dug into an old village site where saucer-shape pits indicated the places formerly occupied by houses. The village had been burned, as was evident from the numerous fragments of charred timbers mixed with the soil. In the few cubic feet of earth turned up at this place were found a slate fish knife, an ivory spearhead, a doll, and a toy dish, the latter two cut from bark. The men I had with me from the village at St. Michael became so alarmed by their superstitious feelings that I was obliged to give up the idea of getting further aid from them in this place. I learned afterward that this village had been built by people from Pastolik, at the mouth of the Yukon, who went there to fish and to hunt seals before the Russians came to the country.

"On the highest point of Whale Island, which is a steep islet just offshore near the present village of St. Michael, were the ruins of a kashim and of several houses. The St. Michael people told me that this place was destroyed, long before the Russians came, by a war party from below the Yukon mouth. The sea has encroached upon the islet until a portion of the land formerly occupied by the village has been washed away. The permanently frozen soil at this place stopped us at the depth of about 2 feet. Here, and at another ancient Unalit village site which was examined superficially, we found specimens of bone and ivory carvings which were very ancient, as many of them crumbled to pieces on being exposed.

"Along the lower Yukon are many indications of villages destroyed by war parties. According to the old men these parties came from Askinuk and Kushunuk, near the Kuskokwim, as there was almost constant warfare between the people of these two sections before the advent of the Russians.

"Both the fur traders and the Eskimo claim that there are a large number of house sites on the left bank of the Yukon,[56] a few miles below Ikogmut. This is the village that the Yukon Eskimo say had 35 kashims, and there are many tales relating to the period when it was occupied. At the time of my Yukon trips this site was heavily covered with snow, and I could not see it; but it would undoubtedly well repay thorough excavation during the summer months. One of the traditions is that this village was built by people from Bristol Bay, joined by others from Nunivak Island and Kushunuk. One informant said that a portion of this village was occupied up to 1848, when the last inhabitant died of smallpox, but whether or not this is true I was unable to learn.

"Another informant told me that near the entrance of Goodnews Bay, near the mouth of the Kuskokwim, there is a circular pit about 75 feet in diameter, marking the former site of a very large kashim. A few miles south of Shaktolik, near the head of Norton Sound, I learned of the existence of a large village site. Both the Eskimo and the fur traders who told me of this said that the houses had been those of Shaktolik people, and that some of them must have been connected by underground passageways, judging from the ditch-like depressions from one to the other along the surface of the ground. The Shaktolik men who told me this said that there were many other old village sites about there and that they were once inhabited by a race of very small people who have all disappeared.

"From the Malemut of Kotzebue Sound and adjacent region I learned that there are many old village sites in that district. Many of these places were destroyed by war parties of Tinné from the interior, according to the traditions of the present inhabitants.

"On Elephant Point, at the head of the Kotzebue Sound, I saw the site of an old village, with about 15 pits marking the locations of the houses. The pits sloped toward the center and showed by their outlines that the houses had been small and roughly circular, with a short passageway leading into them, the entire structure having been partly underground.

"The Eskimo of East Cape, Siberia, said that there were many old village sites along the coast in that vicinity. These houses had stone foundations, many of which are still in place. There is a large ruined village of this kind near the one still occupied on the cape.

"On the extreme point of Cape Wankarem, and at its greatest elevation, just above the present camp of the Reindeer Chukchi, a series of three sites of old Eskimo villages were found."

To this, on pages 269 et seq., Nelson adds an account of the villages that "died" on St. Lawrence Island during the winter of 1879-80. Capt. C. L. Hooper, in the "Cruise of the Corwin in 1881, Notes and Observations" (published in Washington, 1884, p. 100) gives the date as 1878-79, and adds further details about these villages.

FOOTNOTES:

[51] Beechey, F. W., Narrative of a Voyage to the Pacific and Bering's Strait. Phila., 1832, 474.

[52] Hooper, C. L., Report of Arctic Cruise of the Revenue Steamer _Corwin_, 1881. Washington, 1884, 63, 99.

[53] Ray, Lieut. P. H., Report of the International Polar Expedition to Point Barrow, Alaska. Washington, 1885, 22.

[54] Ray, P. H., Ethnographic Sketch of the Natives. Report of the International Polar Expedition to Point Barrow, Alaska. Washington, 1885, 37.

[55] Eighteenth Ann. Rept. Bur. Amer. Eth., pt. 1, Washington, 1900, 263 et seq.

[56] This is the "village of 32 kashims," which I mention in the Narrative and of which I heard independently (p. 71). The present Eskimo claim that it existed on the right bank, about 12 miles below Russian Mission (Ikogmut). My visit and subsequently that of Mr. Chris Betsch, the kind and interested trader at Russian Mission, the latter with an old Eskimo, failed to definitely locate the site, but further efforts are desirable.

PRESENT LOCATION OF ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES

Through personal visits, wherever possible, and through information from all available sources, an effort was made to locate and learn the character of as many of the old sites as could be traced. In this endeavor I was aided by many whose services are hereby gratefully acknowledged. Especial thanks are due to Captain Cochran with the officers and men of the _Bear_, particularly Boatswain H. Berg; to the Lomen brothers and their esteemed father, at Nome; to Father B. La Fortune and the Reverend Baldwin at Nome; to Mr. Sylvester Chance, superintendent of the northwestern district, Bureau of Education; to Mr. Charles D. Brower, trader at Barrow; to Mr. Jim Allen, trader at Wainwright; and to Dr. E. P. Walker, head of the Biological Survey of Alaska. The list to follow, supplemented by maps, will give in brief the name, location, and description of the remains.

The old sites occur, (1) in the form of refuse heaps; (2) as late village sites, smaller or larger areas of ground covered with mostly circular elevations and depressions, with occasionally the wooden remains of igloos or kashims, or only partly ruined dwellings; such remains are the most common; (3) as old village sites in the form of a long irregular ridge mound or of more or less separate heaps; (4) as heaps or "mounds" of individual structures. And as "passed" sites, covered completely by sand or silt and unknown until uncovered through the washing away by the sea or rivers of some of the deposits.

In addition there are the remains of burial grounds which are occasionally marked by small low mounds or hummocks produced by decayed burials that have been more or less assimilated by the tundra. Stony beaches with chips, implements, etc., such as are found off old sites on the Yukon, have not been seen in the region now dealt with in any instance.

The ruined dwellings and communal houses throughout this region, with a few minor exceptions, were of one general type. They were circular, yurta-shaped, semisubterranean structures, with a more or less subterranean tunnel approach, built of hewn driftwood and earth. These dwellings, when the wood decays and the dome falls in, leave characteristic saucer-and-handle-like depressions. But where such dwellings were close, and especially where they were heaped up or superimposed on older ones, the remains, together with the refuse, may form an irregular elevated ridge or a large irregular mound.

On the Diomede Islands the dwellings are built of stone, and ruins of stone houses have been reported to me from inland of the westernmost parts of the Seward Peninsula. Stone dwellings were also known on Norton Sound.

Some of the ridges and heaps, as at Shishmaref, Point Hope, one of the Punuk Islands, etc., are large and may be up to 15 feet and over in depth, but mostly the remains are of moderate to small size. The latter sometimes could easily be confounded with natural formations. The older remains may superficially be indistinguishable even to an experienced observer; and if there is anything still more ancient, it lies somewhere in the old sands and beaches where, except through some fortunate accident, it can not be discovered. Except for their surface, the remains are generally frozen hard, and no excavation is possible except through gradual exposure and the melting of layer after layer by the warmth of the sun or a melting of the ground with water or by some other artificial means.

Some at least of these ruins are rich archeologically. They greatly exceed in this respect a large majority of village ruins and mounds in the interior of the continent. This appears from their gradual excavation by the natives at Barrow, Point Hope, St. Lawrence Island, and elsewhere. The natives have now for many years been selling thousands of articles thus obtained to traders, teachers, and crews of visiting vessels. A regular and growing trade detrimental to archeology is now being carried on in "fossil ivory," which generally consists of pieces showing human workmanship and occasionally includes specimens of rare beauty and importance.

The archeological contents of such old sites as that near Savonga on the St. Lawrence Island, or those at Wales, Point Hope, Barrow, etc., are varied, and in instances exceedingly interesting. They comprise a large variety of objects of stone, ivory, bone, and wood, while in the more superficial layers are also found occasionally glass beads or objects of metal. Some ruins, such as those at Point Hope and Kotzebue, are very rich in stone objects; others, as those at the St. Lawrence Island, are rich in articles of ivory and bone. Pottery is generally scarce. Articles of stone comprise mainly points, knives, adzes, and lamps; those of wood, goggles and masks; of bone, various parts of sleds, a large assortment of snow and meat picks, and scrapers; of ivory, barbed points, harpoons, and lance heads, and a large variety of tools, fetishes, and ceremonial objects; of clay, a few dishes and pots for culinary purposes. Traces of objects made of whalebone or even birch bark may also appear.

The stones used were mainly slate and flint, but there may also be met with quartz, quartzite, and especially the Kobuk "jade." The workmanship is as a rule good to excellent. The arrow points show a number of interesting, not yet fully known, types, the long blade with parallel sides predominating. The stone lamps and rare dishes also need further study. The knives all approach the Asiatic semilunar variety.

The bones and wooden objects and the pottery from this region are fairly well covered by the writings of Ray, Murdoch, Nelson, Rau, Thomas, and others; the masks need further study.

The most interesting archeological specimens from the region of the western Eskimo, however, are some of those in "fossil ivory," the term being applied to walrus ivory that through long lying in the ground has assumed more or less of a pearly yellow, variegated, sepia-brown or black color. These objects are known as yet very imperfectly. They are scarce at and especially north of Point Hope, and again along the west coast south of Norton Sound. Their center of frequency comprises seemingly the St. Lawrence Island, some parts of the Asiatic coast, the Diomedes, and parts of the Seward Peninsula. But they occur at least up to Point Hope, while west of Bering Strait they are said to appear as far as the river Kolyma.

Some of the objects in fossilized ivory show the well-known Eskimo art, with geometrical design. But besides these there occur here and there beautiful specimens, harpoon heads, figures, needle cases, etc., which are of the finest workmanship and which both in form and design differ from the prevailing Eskimo types. They are examples of high aboriginal art; and their engraved decorative lines are not geometrical but beautifully curvilinear. (Fig. 12.) The accompanying illustrations of specimens I succeeded in obtaining from different sources will show the nature of this art. (Pls. 19-26.) Isolated specimens of this nature have been secured before by Nelson, Neuman, Sverdrup, Stefánsson, and others. Jenness in 1926 dug out a few from the old sites at Wales. There are several in the Museum of the American Indian in New York. But the largest and best collection of these remarkable articles is now that of the United States National Museum.[57]

The large fossil ivory figure (20.3 cm. maximum length, pl. 26) collected by Mr. Carl Lomen and now in the National Museum is of special interest. It comes from the Asiatic side. It is a handsomely made piece, belonging in all probability to the high fossil ivory culture. Its peculiarity is the bi-bevel face, a face made by two planes rising to a median ridge. It is so far a unique specimen of its kind. But with the aid of Mr. H. W. Krieger, curator of ethnology, United States National Museum, we found similar bi-beveled faces in wooden figures from northeast Asia, in wooden Eskimo masks from the Yukon, and in wooden ceremonial figures from Panama. The latter are shown herewith. (Pl. 27.) The whole presents evidently a nice problem for the archeologist and student of culture.

TERMINAL PIECE OF A LANCE OR HARPOON. NORTHERN BERING SEA

Black, high natural polish. Most beautiful piece of the fossil ivory art. (A. H., 1926, U.S.N.M.)]

FOSSIL IVORY SPECIMENS SHOWING THE OLD CURVILINEAR DESIGNS. NORTHERN BERING SEA

(A. H. coll., 1926, U.S.N.M.)]

OBJECTS SHOWING THE OLD FOSSIL IVORY ART. NORTHERN BERING SEA

(U.S.N.M., Nos. 1 and 3, coll. A. H., 1926.)]

FOSSIL IVORY NEEDLE CASES AND SPEAR HEADS, NORTHERN BERING SEA, SHOWING FINE WORKMANSHIP

(A. H. coll., 1926, U.S.N.M.)]

_a_, Small, finely made objects in fossil ivory and stone (the head), from the ruins at Port Hope (A. H. coll., 1926.)

_b_, Old fossil ivory objects, northern Bering Sea. The article to the right is almost classic in form; it is decorated on both sides. (A. H. coll., 1926, U.S.N.M.)]

FOSSIL IVORY COMBS. UPPER BERING SEA

(A. H. coll., 1926)]

FOSSIL IVORY OBJECTS FROM THE UPPER BERING SEA REGION. TRANSITIONAL ART

(Museum of the Agricultural College, Fairbanks, Alaska.)]

OLD BLACK FINELY CARVED FOSSIL IVORY FIGURE, FROM THE NORTHEASTERN ASIATIC COAST

(Loan to U.S.N.M. by Mr. Carl Lomen.)]

WOODEN FIGURINES FROM A MEDICINE LODGE, CHOCO INDIANS, PANAMA

(U.S.N.M. colls.)]

Top: Manche de poignard en ivoire, avec sculpture représentant un renne. Montastruc (Peccadeau de l'Isle; in de Quatrefages (A.), Hommes fossiles, Paris, 1884, p. 50)

Left: Two beautiful knives of fossil mammoth ivory lately made by a Seward Peninsula Eskimo. (Gift to the U.S.N.M. by A. H., 1926.)

Right: Two old ceremonial Mexican obsidian knives.]

I had further the good fortune to secure, through the kindness of Reverend Baldwin, two handsome and remarkable knives from fossil mammoth ivory. These knives were said to have been made recently by the Eskimo of the Seward Peninsula. They are shown in Plate 28. They each bear on the handle a nicely carved crouching animal figure. With them are shown, somewhat more reduced, two probably ceremonial knives from Old Mexico; and also the handle of a late palaeolithic poignard from France, illustrated by De Quatrefages.[58] Regarding the latter form we read the following in Mortillet:[59] "D'autres poignées de poignard, faites dans des données pratiques et artistiques analogues, ont été recueillies dans diverses collections. Les plus remarquables sont deux poignées en ivoire trouvées par Peccadeau de l'Isle, à Bruniquel. L'une se rattachait à la lame, comme dans la pièce précédente, par le train de derrière; l'autre, au contraire, par la tête." Knives with similar crouching animal figures on the handle are being made by the King Islanders.

Here, evidently, is one more interesting problem for the archeologists.

The art shown by these objects, the conventionalization, and especially the decorations, appear to show affinity on one hand to deeper eastern Asia and on the other to those of the American northwest coast and even lower. This may prove to mean much or little. The fact that these specimens establish beyond question is that at one time and up to a few hundreds of years ago there existed in the lands of the northern Bering Sea native art superior to that existing there later and at the present, and comparable with the best native Siberian or American.

The meaning of this fact seems to me to be of importance. The evidence suggests, aside from other things, that American cultural developments may after all not have been purely local or even American, but that they may, in part at least, have been initiated or carried from Asia. In view of these and other recent developments it seems rational to consider that America may have been peopled by far eastern Asiatic groups that not merely carried with them differences in language and physique but also in some cases relatively high cultural developments. But these for the present are mere hypotheses.

There is no definite indication as yet that the people of the high fossil ivory art in the northern Bering Sea and neighboring parts were any others than the ancestors of the Eskimo. The skeletal remains from these regions, as will be shown later, rather support this view. But those ancestors may not yet have represented the characteristic present type of the people. Here, too, nothing definite can be said before the results of sufficient scientific excavations become available.

FOOTNOTES:

[57] MacCurdy described the first specimen of this kind in 1921 as "An Example of Eskimo Art," in Amer. Anthrop., vol. 23, No. 3, pp. 384-385. See also Collins (H. B., jr.), Prehistoric Art of the Alaskan Eskimo, Smith. Misc. Coll., vol. 81, No. 14, 52 pp., Washington, 1929.

[58] Quatrefages, A. de., Hommes fossiles et hommes sauvages. Paris, 1884.

[59] Mortillet, G. de., Le préhistorique origine et antiquité de l'homme. Paris, 1900, 206-207.

SITES AND VILLAGES

The location of the western Eskimo villages has received more or less attention by most of the explorers in their region from the Russian time onward; but such efforts are generally limited to the living villages in the area visited by the observers.

Perhaps the earliest Russian map of value in this connection on the Bering Sea region is that which I find in Billings and Gall's Voyage or "Putěshestvie" of 1791, printed in St. Petersburg 1811. The map bears no date, but is evidently quite early. It gives three villages on the western point and north coast of the Seward Peninsula, namely Kiemile (later Nykhta, now Wales), Chegliukh, and Tykiak. (Pl. 29.)

The most notable and valuable of the Russian contributions to this subject is that of Zagoskin. This refers to the period of 1842-1844 and is contained partly in his "Peshechodnaia Opis," etc. (St. Petersburg, 1847), but especially on his maps. There are, I find, two of these maps--the "Merkatorskaia Karta Časti Sieverozapadnago Berega Ameriky" and the "Merkatorskaia Generalnaia Karta Časti Rossijskich Vladěnii v Amerikě." I came across the first in one copy of Zagoskin's invaluable account, which should long ago have been translated into English, and the other in another copy. Part of the second is here reproduced. (Pl. 30.) Both bear the statement that they were made by Zagoskin as the result of his explorations on the Yukon in 1842-1844. The second ("general") map is much the clearer and richer. Both maps, but especially the second, give a good number of villages, especially about Norton Sound and along the southern shore of Seward Peninsula. The orthography differs somewhat on the two charts.

The Tebenkof Atlas of 1849 includes a remarkably good map of the St. Lawrence Island. As on other Russian maps it gives the Punuk Islands, that later are lost by most map makers, and indicates the location of what probably were all the living settlements of that time, except on the Punuk. (Fig. 27.)

Finally, in 1861, Tikhmenief, in his "Istoričeskoie Obozrenie" (history of Russian America) gives a detailed map with many locations of Eskimo villages.

The Aleutian Islands and Kodiak are excellently dealt with by Veniaminof and also Tikhmenief, though little special attention is given to the location of the settlements.

None of the Russian explorers, regrettably, report verbally on the deserted sites or ruins. But their registration and location of many villages that have since become "dead" is of much historical as well as anthropological value.