The Material Culture of the Eskimo in West Greenland. 115 



stance, W. Thalbitzer's method) I have followed the Kleinschmidt 

 orthography with the exception that, following Rink, Boas and others, 

 I have altered the uvular к to q. 



While writing the following notes I have often felt the lack of several 

 standard works upon the present question, which ought to have 

 been consulted. I have particularly missed a number of papers by 

 Boas, Egede, Fabricius, Mason, Murdoch, Solberg and others. 

 Such works of the above authors, and of others, as have been accessible 

 to me I have given in the bibliography. When, instead of simply 

 delivering these objects to a museum as others have done with those 

 they have collected, I have preferred to forward them accompanied 

 by an explanation, the chief reason is that I am fortunate enough to 

 live in the midst of the people who have produced and used these ar- 

 ticles, and can, therefore, easily ascertain their opinion regarding them. 

 It appears to me that authors have sometimes neglected to hear the 

 Eskimo's own explanation, and have, thereby, been led to perpetrate 

 errors, and to advance opinions and theories which are based upon 

 wrong suppositions, and are, therefore, misleading. In order to have 

 an opportunity of correcting such mistakes before they circulate further, 

 and also because the study of the implements of the West Green- 

 landers has been greatly neglected during the latter decades, I feel 

 justified in publishing these notes in spite of their casual and frag- 

 mentary character. 



Unless otherwise stated the figures are from the author's own 

 drawings and photographs. 



Disco, Greenland, November 1911. 



I. Historical Notes. Metinod of 



investigation. Tine Esi<imo Missile Weapons: 



Definitions and Classification. 



Historical Notes. 



Nowhere is the ability of the Eskimo to construct ingeniously com- 

 plicated implements from deficient materials and with primitive tools 

 more developed than in the construction of their hunting-weapons. 

 It is therefore very natural that these ingenious implements greatly 

 attracted the attention of the travellers, investigators and missionaries 

 who first came across them. Ever since the earliest accounts of Eskimo 

 culture we find hunting weapons most exhaustively described, and it 

 is these which are usually illustrated and most commonly collected for 

 the museums. 



