10 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 8l 



In the base is an oval slot 21 mm. long and 15 mm. deep, which 

 appears to have been cut rather than drilled. Slots of about the same 

 diameter extend up through each flange and are connected near the 

 center by a small circular perforation. At the top of the central 

 projection is a long shallovi^ notch which is a characteristic feature of 

 these objects. 



The broken harpoon socket piece shown on plate 7, c, was excavated 

 at Gambell by Mr. Otto W. Geist, for the Alaska School of Mines. 

 The decoration consists of nucleated circles connected by lines, the 

 pattern being enclosed within a field set ofif by a deeply cut line. There ^ 

 was evidently a somewhat similar design on the other side of the 

 shallow sunken band which encircles the object. The space between 

 the two design elements at the bottom has been cut away, leaving 

 the rounded ends in low relief, as was seen also on the harpoon heads 

 shown on plate i. 



Plate 8, a-h, is an object of unknown use, collected at Point Hope 

 by Henry D. Woolfe in 1885. It is of dark greenish-brown ivory and 

 is carved to represent a seal. There is a slot at the back end 20 mm. 

 long which continues on the underside for an additional 25 mm. 

 This suggests a slot for a blade, but the central perforation, with 

 grooves leading down to a flattened base, is evidently intended for 

 attachment, in which case it is difficult to see how the object could 

 have served as a knife or other cutting implement. The object is of 

 particular interest, however, for the reason that, despite the absence of 

 any etched designs, certain features of the outline are sufficient, quite 

 apart from the patination, to show that it is a product of the old 

 Bering Sea culture. Extending from below the neck to the middle of 

 the back are two wide and deep grooves, the edges of which are bor- 

 dered by lightly incised lines. The incision through the head is bor- 

 dered in a similar manner. Around the ends of the grooves on the back 

 is a somewhat deeply incised curving line bordered on one side by a 

 ridge or lip. Such ridges, although more pronounced, may be seen on 

 plate 5 and on plate 8, c. The eye is formed by a circular excavation 

 5 mm. in diameter set at the center of a large slightly sunken circu- 

 lar area. Freshly cut discs of wood and small black glass beads have 

 been recently inserted in these cavities. 



The broken object shown on plate 8, c, was purchased in Seattle ; its 

 provenience is not known. It is evidently part of a harpoon socket 

 piece of the type illustrated by Mathiassen^ from Point Hope and 

 Kotzebue Sound. A round hole 6 mm. in diameter is drilled trans- 



* Indian Notes, Vol. 6, No. i, p. 39. 



