The American Museum Journal 



Vol.. 111. UC lOliKR, 1903 No. 5 



S|OR many years the American Musetim of Natural 

 History has had before it the investigation of the 

 life of man on this continent, and since 1897 the 

 Jlj larger question of the tribal relations between 

 the early inhabitants of ^Vmerica and those of Asia. 

 Much time and labor have been devoted to these researches, 

 the most important of which have been included in the work of 

 the Jesup North Pacific E.x.pedition. This enterprise has aroused 

 public interest to such an extent and evoked so many inquiries 

 from all parts of the world that it has been deemed best to give 

 a brief resume of the history of its organization and of the field 

 work which has been carried out by it. The resume, which is 

 published in this number of the Journal, has been prepared by 

 Professor Boas, to whom President Jesup intrusted the planning 

 and direction of the whole expedition. It is not easy to find 

 men of science fully cjualified for such technical lines of research, 

 and though the personnel of the different parties carrying on the 

 work is given in the narrative, it will not be out of place to state 

 regarding the men engaged to prosecute the investigations in 

 Siberia that Dr. Laufer was recommended to the Museum by 

 the Academy of Sciences at Berlin as a man amply equipped for 

 work in this territory, while Messrs. Jochelson and Bogoras bore 

 the highest testimony from both that Academy and the Imperial 

 Academy of Sciences at St. Petersburg. With such men, the 

 Museum felt that whatever the final results might be, it certainly 

 had placed its interests in worthy hands. The list of papers 

 that have been published gives some idea of what has been ac- 

 complished already. It is estimated that the completed series 

 of scientific reports resulting from this expedition will fill at least 

 twelve quarto volumes. 



The readers of the Journal ma\- be interested in the inner 



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