Anthropology of Southeastern Alaska— Laughlin 77 



termined the age of 3,000 years for radioactive carbon in samples 

 of burned wood taken from one meter above the floor. The 

 floor of the site will thus be several hundred years older, and 

 earlier sites must lie closer to and on the mainland in view of 

 the fact that the people came out here from the east. On the 

 basis of known carbon- 14 dates from sites to the north it appears 

 that this is the earliest known Eskimo, or Proto Aleut-Eskimo 

 culture. It is therefore imperative that archaeological sites in 

 southern Alaska be carefully excavated in order to reveal the 

 complete sequence preceding those found to the north. A 

 fundamental problem is then the inventory of traits possessed 

 by the earliest Proto Aleut-Eskimo culture. 



In this Paleo-Aleut culture of 3,000 years and more, which 

 is a part of or close to this basic culture, we recognize a mini- 

 mum inventory of stone tools consisting of lamps, bowls, adze 

 blades with ground edges, drill bits, weights, pecking, pound- 

 ing, and grinding stones, abraders, lamellar flake gravers, knives, 

 points and scrapers, and a variety of chipped knives and points. 

 Among the bone tools are three kinds of harpoon heads: those 

 without stone points, some used without a socket; those with 

 stone points inserted in an end slot; and toggle harpoon heads. 

 The small two-piece socket, rib tools, wedges, eyed needles, com- 

 pound fish hooks, leister prongs and the shovel are found. 

 Ivory labrets and carved human figures were also a part of the 

 earliest culture. It is obvious that they also possessed boats in 

 order to have reached Umnak Island. The possibility that the 

 kayak developed from the umiak in southern Alaska should 

 be considered. In the succeeding 4,000 years the manufacture 

 and use of kayaks reached a high degree of development. It is 

 of interest to note that the Aleut word for kayak is a diminutive 

 of the word for umiak. When the extent of the Proto Aleut- 

 Eskimo culture is known it will then be possible to deal more 

 adequately with the problem of the American versus the Asiatic 

 origin of many Eskimo traits. 



Throughout the Nikolski site, six meters in depth, there is a 

 continuous change in harpoon head styles with no evidence of 

 any marked periods. Some of the latest traits, possibly aided in 



