424 THOMAS THOMSEN 



Greenland, has unfortunately no label attached to it. l On the other 

 hand, this type is found in Central Eskimo regions; BoAS 3 figures a 

 series of snow knives from Southampton Island and from Gore Bay, 

 situated to the north of the latter, and also from Ponds Bay, which 

 show an evident relationship to those from North-east Greenland. 

 One of them, which differs, however, in having a handle with bilate- 

 ral knob, has a series of holes in the posterior portion of the back 

 of the blade, like the specimen figured in PL XIX, 2. 3 Another series 

 of snow knives figured by BOAS from Iglulik and Ponds Bay 4 , in 

 which the blade and the handle are of separate pieces of ivory, illu- 

 strates the same shape, but not in so pronounced a manner; of an 

 allied type, but likewise somewhat rounded in form, are two knives 

 from Cumberland Sound 5 . From the latter locality, and from South- 

 ampton Island, there are, however, snow knives of other forms also 6 , 

 possibly differing in age from the preceding; in the majority of the 

 Eskimo departments material is still lacking for chronological deter- 

 mination. 



Men's Knives. 



In North-east Greenland the man's knife was most frequently 

 made, of slate; in the present collection, for instance, there are some 

 10 more or less complete specimens of this material, besides seve- 

 ral fragments (Plates VIII, 1 ; IX, 4; XII, 1 ; XIII, 14 and XXI). 



They differ, however, considerably in form ; sometimes the whole 

 knife is of slate ready for use, the blade and handle being of one 

 piece; sometimes the handle portion is quite thin, and requires rein- 

 forcing with wood or bone; others again have only a short tang, 

 much shorter than the haft into which it had been inserted. 7 



Usually the back is straight, while the edge curves towards the 



1 It is 23'5 cm. long and 6-5 cm. broad; the fore end is abruptly rounded. It re- 

 calls PI. XIX, 4, except that the back shoulder is somewhat rounded and there 

 is no hole for suspension. 



2 BOAS III, p. 409, Fig. 207. 



3 The same peculiarity is also seen in the snow knife from North-east Greenland in 

 the Christiania Museum, mentioned on p. 422. This has three holes, each of which 

 (like one of the holes in the specimen figured by BOAS) has a groove running 

 from it to the back of the knife. The back at this point has been smoothed 

 so as to afford a surface to which some other object may have been lashed by 

 means of the holes in question. 



4 BOAS III, p. 410, Fig. 208, c e and p. 411, Fig. 209. 

 6 Loc. cit. p. 42, Fig. 53, a and b. 



6 Loc. cit. p. 42, Fig. 53 c and p. 413, Fig. 211. 



7 A knife, of which the wooden haft or, more exactly, reinforcement of wood (at- 

 tached by lashing) still remains, is figured by SOLBERG PL 9, 6; it belongs to 

 the Swedish NATHORST Expedition. 



