THE ORIGIN AND ANTIQUITY OF THE ESKIMO 



By Henry B. Collins 

 Anthropologist, Bureau of American Ethnology 



I With 4 plates] 



Though numbering less than 40,000, the Eskimos occupy almost 

 half of the world's Arctic coast lands. Beginning at the northeastern 

 tip of Siberia, their scattered settlements extend eastward for more 

 than 6,000 miles along the Arctic and sub-Arctic coasts of Alaska, Can- 

 ada, and Greenland. No other primitive people occupy so wide a 

 territory and at the same time exhibit such remarkable uniformity 

 of language, culture, and physical type. Where Eskimo and Indian 

 meet, as on the rivers of Alaska and in the interior of northern Canada, 

 the culture and physical type of both groups have been affected. But 

 nowhere have the Indians penetrated to the Arctic coast. Here, where 

 the Eskimos hold undisputed possession, there is one language and, 

 with certain exceptions to be noted later, one basic culture and physical 



type. 



The origin of the Eskimo and his peculiar culture has been debated 

 for many years. Probably the majority of American anthropologists 

 in the past have accepted the theory that the Eskimos are an American 

 people and their culture an American product. Boas, who studied 

 the Baffin Island and Hudson Bay tribes, considered that the original 

 Eskimo homeland was the lake region west of Hudson Bay. Here, 

 said Boas, the Eskimo race and culture were found in purest form, 

 mimodified by Indian influence; moreover, the traditions of the Eski- 

 mos to the east, north, and west all pointed to an original center just 

 west of Hudson Bay. Murdoch, Wissler, Stef ansson, Jochelson, Sha- 

 piro, and others followed this view, which, principally because of the 

 great influence and authority of Boas, became in America at least the 

 orthodox and "scientific" theory of the origin of the Eskimos. 



Among European scholars who adhered to the American origin 

 theory were Rink and Steensby. According to Rink, the early Eski- 

 mos lived in the interior of Alaska. From this center they had fol- 

 lowed the Alaskan rivers to the coasts, their culture meanwhile under- 

 going gradual change until it developed finally into the typical mari- 

 time form we know today. 



A more elaborate theory was advanced by Steensby, who postulated 

 a stratification of Eskimo culture. The oldest stratum was that found 



922758—51 28 423 



