GRAPHIC ART OF THE ESKIMOS. 939 



Having within the past few days had opportunity, and occasion, to 

 further examine the literature bearing upon the Swedish Polar Expe 

 ditions, I learn that this plate forms one of the illustrations given by 

 Mr. Hans Hildebrand in his monograph on primitive art, and forming 

 a chapter in one of Baron Nordenskiold s works. 1 In speaking* of the 

 generally intelligible state of the pictographic characters, he remarks 

 as follows: 



&quot;Ich will es allerdings niclit auf mich nehmen, von alien diesen Bil- 

 dern eine befriedigende Erkliirung zu geben, die Hauptziige sind jedoch 

 so deutlich, das sie nicht misverstauden werden Konnen. Nahe den 

 Coutouren der Haut laufen auf beinahe alien seiten breite Linien, 

 welche an mehreren Stellen zu breiten Flecken aufschuellen. Diese 

 Linien stellen den Strand dar,die Flecken sind zuweilen Hohen, zuweilen 

 Zelte, die letzen theils an den regelmiissigen Konischen Formen, tlieils 

 an den fiber die Zeltspitze hinausgehenden Enden der das Gerippe des 

 Zeltes bildenden Stangen erkennbar diese Kleinen hervorstehenden 

 Euden tindeu sich auch auf den moderiien Abbildungen der Tchukt- 

 schen-Dorfer.&quot; 



The following interpretation is given as viewed from the Eskimo 

 standpoint, as the entire collection of figures of animals, whales, ships, 

 human beings, and every other character is typically Eskimo, and the 

 system of recording, as well as the type of characters themselves, was 

 undoubtedly obtained from the Eskimo by copying other like records 

 of ivory obtained from the natives of the American coast, or possibly 

 from the Yiiit, who are near neighbors of the Ohukche, and who are, 

 furthermore, the Asiatic representatives of the Eskimo. Neither is it 

 known that the Ohukche were at all proficient, originally, in recording 

 pictorial ly their records, literature being generally silent on that sub 

 ject, and nothing appears in the collections of the National Museum 

 that bears any relation to ornamentation of any character whatever 

 and marked as of Chukche origin. 



Believing therefore that the record under discussion is Eskimo, the 

 interpretation is given from the standpoint of our knowledge of Indian 

 characters. The presence of the two disks, Nos. 1 and 2, denote the 

 sun, No. 1 being in Indian pictography a black sun, or night, while No. 

 2 represents the summer sun as it usually appears a little above the 

 northern horizon. These two scenes therefore would confirm the state 

 ment given by Doctor Bovallius as covering the period of one year. 

 About the outer margin of this record, and marked by indentations 

 and irregularities, appears the shore line, upon the outer margin of 

 which toward the border of the record are various scenes depicted as 

 occurring upon a solid surface, while within the line generally are 

 various scenes, as whale hunting, etc. The outlines of habitations are 

 also scattered at intervals, as in Nos. 3 and 4, apparently in the midst 



Studier ocli Forskningar foranledda af mina resor i koga norden. Stockholm, 

 1884. Pis. and ill. This work was repriuted in Leipzig, 1885, under the title of 

 &quot;Studien uud Forschungen veranlasst durch meine reisen im hoheii Norden/ 



