174 H. P. STEENSBY. 
taneously the distribution of people from Asia to North America. And 
this is the Paleasiatic-American connection which JocHELsoN speaks 
about when taking in consideration the distribution of the forms of the 
houses. 
In Asia, however, the original conditions have been greatly changed 
by the waves of people and the streams of culture which have poured 
northwards; but even with these alterations the inland culture of the 
Asiatic continent has had no particular significance for the Eskimo cul- 
ture at any of its stages. 
6) The Pacific-Asiatic Influence. On the coast of the Pacific 
the Paleasiatics have been able to hold out. Here the nomads have 
not been able to expel or denationalize them. On the other hand their 
culture has been subjected to such a strong, direct influence from the 
south, especially from Japan, that the original conditions are greatly 
altered. When reading STELLER’s description of the old Kamchadales, 
for example, one gets a strong impression of their influence from the 
south. There is no doubt that they have been closely in touch with 
Japanese navigation, even if this, in the time of Brrtne and STELLER, 
was no longer the case, and was only traced through tradition and the 
possession of culture, inasmuch as Bertne and STELLER arrived at these 
shores about one hundred years after Japanese navigation had been sup- 
pressed by the Shogunate. 
As emphasized ‘before, the Pacific Asiatics have, from a purely geo- 
graphical point of view, therefore, the common characteristic that they 
live along the Pacific Coast, but they do not constitute any source for 
a homogeneous influence on the Eskimo culture. We must rather com- 
prehend the conditions as expressing a route, in that the Pacific Asia- 
tics have been nearer to elements of culture of different origin and, on 
account of navigation, the communication between south and north has 
been considerably shorter and easier along the Pacific Coast than through 
the interior of Siberia. 
In reality the Pacific Asiatics must have been in a position to carry 
elements of culture having very diverse origin. The unravelling of this — 
would demand thorough ethnographical studies, for which we scarcely 
possess the material at present. 
We must therefore be content with a purely temporary analysis 
of those different elements of culture which the Eskimo in the regions © 
around Bering Strait may have received along this Pacific Asiatic way 
of influence. They fall principally within 3 groups, which will here be 
made the subject of a temporary classification. 
a. Elements of culture which may be described Paleasiatic in their 
origin. 
b. Elements of culture from more southern cultures which have been 
adopted by the Paleasiatics, or by some of these, and through 
them transmitted as far north as the Eskimo. Within this group 
