144 



SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 



in which whale Ijones alone were used. The entire mound was found 

 to be a natural accumulation of refuse, built up by slow degrees by 

 generations of Eskimos who had lived on the spot. The total extent 

 of this kitchen-midden was even greater than it appeared, for it was 

 found to extend several feet below the present beach, giving it at 

 one point a height of i6 feet. A short distance from the midden are a 

 few detached houses belonging prol^ably to the same period, and 

 still further toward the end of the island are the ruins of several 



'.:^^0t 



Fig. 132. — One of the expedition's two tents on Punuk Island. In the 

 background is seen the hill that gives to the Island its Eskimo name. 

 Poongook, from Poongwa, or " Little Hill." 



later houses, abandoned 40 or 50 years ago. Three of the later houses 

 and two of the older ones were excavated in addition to sections cut 

 into the midden. 



The sloping lower parts of the midden were buried beneath several 

 feet of sand and rocks that had been washed up by the sea. Several 

 old houses were found at the very bottom of the midden, the deepest 

 of them six feet below the present upper lieach line, which was 

 reached by the waves on two occasions during our stay on the island. 

 These houses when l)uilt were, of course, like all Eskimo houses, well 



