NO. 14 PREHISTORIC ART OF ALASKAN ESKIMO COLLINS 2/ 



In form, therefore, the Punuk harpoon heads belong with the old 

 Bering Sea culture. 



Very few other types of artifacts from old Bering Sea sites have 

 been described, so there is as yet little with which to compare the bulk 

 of the material collected at Punuk and Cape Kialegak. However, the 

 resemblances to the old Thule culture of Canada and Greenland, to 

 which it bears undoubtedly a close relation, and the corresponding 

 absence of many modern Alaskan types, indicate beyond a doubt 

 that the old Punuk and Cape Kialegak culture belongs almost entirely 

 to the prehistoric phase, that is, to a period preceding the actual dis- 

 covery of Alaska by the Russians. 



A somewhat different condition is observed in regard to the orna- 

 mentation. While the forms of the objects themselves are distinctly 

 ancient the decorations they bear depart radically from the ancient 

 patterns and at times approach very closely the designs employed by 

 the modern Alaskan Eskimo. First in importance, perhaps, is the 

 circle and dot. In the old form this was seen to be always slightly 

 irregular and often elliptical, showing unmistakably that it had been 

 made free hand. In addition, it was usually raised above the surface. 

 The circles of the Punuk period are not raised and are without 

 exception perfectly round, having been made with a compass or bit, 

 probably of metal. In some cases pairs of circles on the barbs and tips 

 of harpoon heads still carry out the suggestion of eyes but the effect is 

 greatly lessened by the addition of straight lines and the absence of 

 the cuts and enclosing lines along the edges that in the older art com- 

 bined to produce the appearance of an animal's head. Curved lines 

 become much less frequent. Small checked or hachured areas and 

 lightly incised broken or dotted lines are absent. 



In addition to the compass-made circle and dot the Punuk art brings 

 deeply incised straight lines, often in bands ; pairs of short straight 

 cross lines or single cross lines forming small squares or rectangles ; 

 long deeply-cut spurs in contrast to the more delicate and pointed 

 spurs of the old art ; the use of dots applied free or at the end of lines ; 

 bold Y-shaped figures, though not detached ; and pairs of serrations 

 on bird dart points occupying a raised border near the base. 



Besides these specific features distinguishing the two art styles 

 there is a marked difference in appearance due to technique. The old 

 curvilinear designs were deftly applied ; some of the lines were lightly 

 etched while others, for contrast, were deeper. The impression re- 

 ceived is that the artist exercised selective judgment as well as manual 

 skill in the harmonious arrangement of the lines, curves and panels 



