420 Thomas Thomsen 



order to give the length of the kayak, but in this way we arrive 

 at dimensions far greater than recorded of tlie Greenland kayaks. 

 Thus, a South Greenland kayak in the National Museum in Copen- 

 hagen, measuring 645 metres, is considerably larger than the other 

 kayaks preserved in the museum, these measuring from 502 to 5*67 

 metres in length, which is the average length of the Greenland kayak. 

 In Central Eskimo regions, however, much longer kayaks are found. 

 Parry, for instance, records the length of a kayak on Winter Island 

 south of the Melville Peninsula as 25 feet (about 7"60 metres) ^ and 

 a Kinepetu kayak in New York even measures 860 metres;^ con- 

 sequently, there is no inherent reason why the North-east Greenland 

 kayaks should not have been of considerable length. 



On the other hand, we should hesitate to infer the presence of 

 the umiak on the evidence of the posts at Renskæret, as long as no 

 other is forthcoming. In one case the distance between the outer 

 posts is not greater than that between the kayak-posts No. 93, and 

 the breadth, Г25 metres, does not greatly exceed the breadth of 1 

 metre given for the central posts of Nos. 35 and 655, which is un- 

 necessarily great if they are intended to carry one kayak only; in 

 the two other cases the length is greater, 790 and 7*10 metres, but 

 the breadth is only 110 and 1"25 metres. 



However we may try to interpret these stone posts, we come 

 across features which are difficult to explain ; it is therefore hardly 

 opportune, at the present moment, to infer too much. The honour 

 of having first drawn attention to these peculiar relics of the North- 

 east Greenland Eskimo is due to the Danmark Expedition; the final 

 solution of the problem which they present appears to demand the 

 collection of further material, 



' Parry, p, 506. Here also two posts only were used, as is still the case on South- 

 ampton Island, cf. Boas III, PI. V, 2. 

 ' Boas III, p. 76. 



