30 Alaskan Science Conference 



there are short papers on stone, bone and copper work. Very 

 little has been added to the description of stylistic elements and 

 variety of designs developed by Northwest Coast Indians that 

 Dr. Boas included in Primitive Art. A number of studies of 

 wood sculpture have been published. These include histories 

 of totem poles and the legends and historic events illustrated 

 on them (5, 24, 36), brief analyses of stylistic differences in illus- 

 tration and theories concerning the origin of Northwest Coast 

 art style and of totem poles in particular (6, 46, 51). Almost 

 nothing has been done on mask, rattle and box decoration or 

 on painting beyond publishing illustrations with brief notes 

 identifying designs or owners. Some work has been done on 

 architecture and canoe building (50, 64). Descriptions of hunt- 

 ing and fishing equipment and techniques are inadequate. 

 Though Indians and Aleuts hunted sea otter and seal and 

 probably accounted for the larger number of pelts taken away 

 by traders, the writer knows of no detailed description of the 

 techniques and weapons employed. 



Publications on social organization are both descriptive and 

 theoretical. Theoretical papers are concerned primarily with 

 the probable origin of traits of the matrilineal clan organiza- 

 tion and the direction and dates of their diffusion (4, 11). Some 

 material has been collected on the growth, spread and dis- 

 appearance of lineages and clans, noting some of the social, 

 economic and political influences involved (22, 58, 59). Rank, 

 status and slavery have received some attention and several 

 writers have discussed the potlatch and its function in the 

 prestige system (8, 18, 44). 



Economic organization and production for one village has 

 been documented (49), but most of the economic studies have 

 been concerned with distribution of wealth at potlatches and 

 not with the manner in which subsistence needs were satisfied 

 and surplus commodities acquired. 



Very little has been done on music, dancing or drama, and 

 nothing on the survival and adaptation of these arts to present 

 modes of life. 



Language studies are limited to brief sketches, vocabularies 



