FIRST FLOOR 49 



The wall-case at the entrance and Cases i and 2 contain a 

 comparative series illustrating the uniformity of the cultures of 

 the Eskimo of the whole area, extending even to the Chukchee 

 of northeastern Siberia. 



The collections from Smith Sound (Cases i and 3) show that 

 the objects made by the tribe of Eskimo living here are very rude 

 Eastern ^ form. Along the west coast of Baffin Bay a greater 

 Eskimo. variety of objects and tools is used (Cases 3 and 4), 

 partly owing to the greater abundance of drift-wood. The na- 

 tives of this region use whaling-lances (Case 4), and have cere- 

 monials in which masks are used. 



The Eskimo of Southampton Island have had very little con- 

 tact with Europeans; consequently we find here (Case 5) 

 Southamp- stone-tipped arrows and harpoons, toboggans made 

 ton Island of whalebone, implements for chipping stone, and 

 Eskimo. other very primitive objects. Wherever steatite, or 

 soapstone, occurs, the Eskimo make lamps and pots out of it, 

 but in the limestone area of Southampton Island, in Hudson Bay, 

 where no steatite is available, lamps and pots are made by 

 cementing together slabs of limestone (Case 4). 



The tools and implements of the Eskimo of the west coast 

 of Hudson Bay (Cases 5, 6, 7) are more varied, partly because 

 Hudson Bay musk-ox hom and a rather plentiful supply of wood 

 Eskimo. are available for manufactures, partly on account of 

 the influence of the neighboring Indian tribes. 



There is a decided change in the type of culture west of Mac- 

 kenzie River. The implements of the Eskimo of this area, which 

 Mackenzie ii^cludes Alaska, are much more complex than those of 

 River the Other tribes, and there is a strong tendency to 



Eskimo. decoration which is absent among the eastern Eskimo. 

 We find here highly differentiated forms of harpoons (Case 7), 

 ivory objects with pictographic representations (Case 8), stone 

 implements and Stone ornaments of varying form, and harpoons 

 with property-marks (Case 9), coiled and woven basketry and a 

 great variety of masks (Case 10). The culture of the Eskimo 

 of Siberia (Case 11) is practically identical with that of the 

 Eskimo of Alaska. 



