NO. 14 PREHISTORIC ART OF ALASKAN ESKIMO COLLINS 21 



cision of the cutting and the uniform depth and width of the Hnes, 

 circles, and dots, give every appearance of having been produced 

 with steel tools. On the other hand, no metal was found in the Punuk 

 midden except four small fragments in the upper section. Further- 

 more, the great number of slate blades for harpoons, lances, knives, 

 and adzes proves beyond a doubt that the Punuk people still depended 

 on stone for their cutting, thrusting, and hewing implements, even 

 though they may have possessed a few treasured tools of iron with 

 which they decorated their ivory and bone implements. There is thus 

 reason for believing that the Punuk settlement dates from the time 

 when small quantities of European metal were first obtained through 

 the Chukchi and Siberian Eskimo following the arrival of the Rus- 

 sians in Northeastern Siberia in the seventeenth century. 



On plate 12 are illustrated eight specimens which differ from those 

 on the preceding plate in that the decoration is made up of lines and 

 dots instead of lines and circles. 



In a, h, and c are represented three different types of harpoon heads 

 bearing a similar ornamentation. The first two, a and b, have closed 

 sockets, but b is flat and has the line hole parallel with the blade slit, 

 while in a the line hole is at right angles and there is a sharp high 

 longitudinal ridge on both sides above the line hole, as was seen also 

 on plate i. It is an interesting fact that every closed socket harpoon 

 head found at the old sections of Punuk and Cape Kialegak was 

 decorated, whereas the more common open socket heads were usually 

 undecorated. 



Plate 12, c, is of bone; it has an open socket, rectangular slots for 

 lashing the foreshaft in place, and two deep slots for side blades. 

 These were of shell and the lower parts are still in place. The slight 

 projection brought about by cutting away a section of the edge at the 

 end of the outer line below the lateral blade slots is a feature that was 

 observed on several of the harpoon heads on plates i and 2. 



The designs on a and b are in general very similar, despite the dif- 

 ference in shape of the two harpoon heads. Both have incised lines on 

 the barb, around the line hole, and up toward the point. On b the 

 dots are placed at the end of short lines while on a they are free ; a 

 also has spurs attached to the lines. The dots on c are connected with 

 the lines, though not always at the ends as in b, and the spurs are 

 shorter and more numerous than in a. 



The object represented by d is broken at both ends and hollowed out 

 like a spoon on the opposite side. The lines are more curved than those 

 on the harpoon heads just described. The dots are almost 4 mm. 

 deep and three of them pass completely through the specimen. 



