Implements and Artefacts of the North-east Greenland. 395 



seat and the legs. This precautionary measure, which is unneces- 

 sary in the case of the low stools, is of importance as regards the 

 higher specimens, and becomes a necessity when the frame is slen- 

 der, as is the case at Smith Sound Ч 



This stool is unique both as regards size and form. The hollow- 

 ed seat indicates that it was evidently intended to sit on, while 

 the others found in North-east Greenland appear to be low stools 

 to stand on: the stools from Cape Tobin ^, two stool-legs in the 

 Christiania Museum and one leg brought home by the Ryder Ex- 

 pedition from Danmarks have a height of only 10—13 cm. The 

 seats found by the Nathorst Expedition"^ belong to the same type, 

 as also the seats from Grinnell Land^ and Heibergs Land '. From 

 Smith Sound, Bessels" figures a similar low stool; on the other 

 hand, the high, slender stools now used differ greatly from those of 

 North-east Greenland. At Angmagsahk and at Point Barrow the 

 stools are, it is true, of a similar form, but considerably higher. 

 In the former place they are used both to sit on and to squat on 

 with the feet upon the seat. ^ 



The one-legged stool with footstool used in West Greenland is 

 a local form^ The footstool is probably allied to the North-east 

 Greenland type; the stool, I am inclined to believe, is a product of 

 European influence; the squatting position is a position of rest so 

 natural to primitive people that they would hardly make such an 

 alteration on their own accord, especially as it would result in two 

 implements out of one. 



The sealing stool from the east shore of Stormbugt is likewise so 

 low that the man when sitting on it is practically in a squatting 

 position. For this reason, the seat slopes downwards from front to 

 back and is deepest at the back edge. 



Prongs for Bird dart and Fish spear. 



Strangely enough, among the finds from North-east Greenland 

 there is not a single object which can with certainty be identified 

 as a point for a bird dart, either of the thick bone pattern 

 as used in West Greenland before the iron point was intro- 



' Cf. Kroeber, p. 269, Fig. 1. ^ Thalbitzer I, pp. 427—435. -^ Nathorst, 



pp. 346—347. * Boas III, p. 403, Fig. 265. ^ Thalbitzer, loc cit. « Bes- 



SELS, p. 359, Fig, 1. " Murdoch I, p. 255. 



'' Hans Egede, Plate opposite p. 59. The height of two foot-stools of this kind 

 in the National Museum is 11 and 14 cm The seats are 33 5 x 23 cm. and 41-3 X 

 167 cm. respectively. 1 he seat of the corresponding one-legged stools consists of quite 

 a narrow and somewhat curved piece of wood with rounded ends, 28 cm. long 

 and 55 — 6 cm. broad. The height of the one is 545 cm.; at the bottom it is 

 furnished with an iron spike; the other is defective. 



