ARCHEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS AT POINT 

 BARROW, ALASKA 



By HENRY B. COLLINS, JR. 



Assistant Curator, Division of Ethnology, U. S. National Museum 



Since 1928 the Smithsonian Institution has been investigating pre- 

 historic Eskimo sites in Alaska in an attempt to unravel the archeo- 

 logical history of this strategic region of North America. The oldest 

 remains that have come to light in northern Alaska belong to the Old 

 Bering Sea culture, a highly developed Eskimo culture centering 

 around Bering Strait and extending eastward to Point Barrow and 

 westward into northeastern Siberia. On St. Lawrence Island it was 

 found to have undergone marked changes probably a thousand years 

 ago and to have developed into a simplified stage called the Punuk. 1 



The prehistoric Thule culture of northern Canada and Greenland, 

 which apparently had its origin in Alaska, seems to be more closely 

 related to the Punuk stage and even to modern Alaskan culture than 

 to the earlier Old Bering Sea culture. But in order to obtain definite 

 evidence it was necessary to work at an Alaskan site where Thule 

 material occurred more than sporadically. A favorable place was Point 

 Barrow, which represents the most easterly extent of the Old Bering 

 Sea culture and also the most westerly point at which the Thule culture 

 existed as a type. The Eskimos and other collectors have been exca- 

 vating at the old sites around Barrow for a number of years, with the 

 result that large collections of artifacts have been amassed. But since 

 the work had not been done systematically, the cultural differences and 

 relative ages of the various sites were not clearly known. 



In 1 93 1 James A. Ford was detailed to conduct archeological work- 

 in the vicinity of Barrow, but being unable to arrive before the ground 

 froze he received permission to winter there in order to start work 

 early the following spring. 2 Beginning early in June, Mr. Ford exca- 

 vated until late September, when he left on the U. S. S. North Star. 



The oldest and most important of the old sites was Birnirk. Here 

 as around Bering Strait the harpoon head was found to have passed 



1 Archeological investigations in northern Alaska. Explorations and Field- 

 work of the Smithsonian Institution in 1031, pp. 103-112, 1032. 



2 The Institution is indebted to the U. S. Coast Guard, the Bureau of Indian 

 Affairs, and Capt. G. D. Pederson of the schooner Patterson for transportation 

 furnished Mr. Ford to and from Barrow, and also to those at Barrow, par- 

 ticularly C. W. Brower, Dr. H. W. Greist, and Messrs. Morgan, Hopson, and 

 Trendle for many courtesies. 



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