GRAPHIC ART OF THE ESKIMOS. 939 



Having witliin tlie past few days had opportunity, and occasion, to 

 furtlier examine the literature bearing upon the Swedisli Pohir Expe- 

 ditions, I learu that this plate forms one of the illustrations given by 

 Mr. Hans Hildebrand in his monograph on primitive art, and forming 

 a chapter in one of Baron iSTordenskiold's works.' In speaking of the 

 generally intelligible state of the pictographic characters, he remarks 

 as follows: 



"Icli will es allerdings nicht auf micli nehmen, von alien diesen Bil- 

 dern eine befriedigende Erkliirung zu gebeu, die Hauptziige sind jedoch 

 so deutlich, das sie nicht misverstanden werden Konnen. Nahe den 

 Contouren der Haut laufen auf beinahe alien seiteu breite Linien, 

 welchc an mehreren Stellen zu breiten Flecken aufschuellen. Diese 

 Linien stellen den Strand dar,die Flecken sind zuweilen Huhen, zuweilen 

 Zelte, die letzen tlieils an den regelmJissigen Konischen Formen, theils 

 an den fiber die Zeltspitze hinausgehenden Enden der das Gerippe des 

 Zeltes bildenden Stangen erkennbar — diese Kleinen hervorstehenden 

 Enden finden sich aucli auf den modernen Abbildungen der Tchukt- 

 scheu-Dorfer.'' 



The following interpretation is given as viewed from the Eskimo 

 standiDoint, as the entire collection of figures of animals, whales, ships, 

 human beings, and every other character is typically Eskimo, and the 

 system of recording, as well as the type of characters themselves, was 

 undoubtedly obtained from the Eskimo by copying other like records 

 of ivory obtained from the natives of the American coast, or possibly 

 from the Yuit, who are near neighbors of the Chukche, and who are, 

 furthermore, the Asiatic representatives of the Eskimo. I^either is it 

 known that the Chukche were at all proficient, originally, in recording 

 pictorially their records, literature being generally silent on that sub- 

 ject, and nothing apjjears in the collections of the National Museum 

 that bears any relation to ornamentation of any character whatever 

 and marked as of Chukche origin. 



Believing therefore that the record under discussion is Eskimo, the 

 interpretation is given from the standpoint of our knowledge of Indian 

 characters. The presence of the two disks, IsTos. 1 and 2, denote the 

 sun, ;N"o. 1 being in Indian pictography a hlacJc sun, or night, while Xo. 

 2 represents the summer sun as it usually appears a little above the 

 northern horizon. These two scenes therefore would confirm the state- 

 ment given by Doctor Bovallius as covering the period of one year. 

 About the outer margin of this record, and marked by indentations 

 and irregularities, appears the shore line, upon the outer margin of 

 which toward the border of the record are various scenes depicted as 

 occurring upon a solid surface, while within the line generally are 

 various scenes, as whale hunting, etc. The outlines of habitations are 

 also scattered at intervals, as in Nos. 3 and 4, apparently in the midst 



'Studier och Forskuingar foranledda af mina resor i hoga nordeu. Stockholm, 

 1884. Pis. and ill. This work was repriuted in Leipzig, 1885, under the title of 

 "Studieu uud Forschungeu veraulasst durch meine reisen ini hohen Norden.'' 



