470 THOMAS THOMSEN 



if anything has been broken off, however, it can only be for the last 

 5 cm. of the hinder end. As in the case of the foregoing specimen, 

 the part in front of the grip is narrowed in; the greatest breadth, 

 3'7 cm., is not reached until a distance of 13 cm. from the hinder 

 end. In contrast to Fig. 53 5, the breadth decreases evenly forward 

 down to 3 cm., but the fore end is broken off and missing. Present 

 length 32*2 cm., thickness, which increases gradually towards the 

 grip end, 1/3 2*2 cm. 



As already mentioned, we have no means of determining to what 

 use these implements have been put. Wooden articles with the same 

 marked grip have, it is true, before been found in North-east Green- 

 land; as for instance the handle brought home "by RYDER from Sco- 

 resby Sound, which he considered as belonging to a throwing stick 1 , 

 and a similar specimen found by AMDRUP at Sabine Island. 2 Three 

 complete implements have, however, also been found with the same 

 type of grip, 1 by the Germania Expedition and 2 by NATHORST'S. 3 

 These last show, that this handy grip arrangement has, as is only 

 natural, been used for various wooden implements; with such a soft 

 material, it was not difficult to carve out the handle end so as to 

 give a good hold. One of the three complete specimens is club- 

 shaped, the two others are pointed, but all are narrow and rounded, 

 whereas those shown in Fig. 53 are broad and flat, thus doubtless 

 representing a third type of implement. 



The wooden fragment shown in Fig. 54 (L. 3220) was found at 

 the same camping place. It is 17*5 cm. long, convex on the face 



Fig. 54. 1 / 2 . 



shown in the figure, but flat on the reverse, thickness about 1 cm. 

 The end preserved is cut off straight, but with the corners rounded 

 off. The breadth here is 1-6 cm., but increases gradually throughout 

 the length of the fragment up to 2-9 cm. Two holes have been bored 

 right through in the line of the median axis, at 2 and 13 cm. dist- 

 ance from the narrow end; a third hole, 3'6 cm. from the latter, is 

 indicated in the broken part. Two slanting notches have been cut 

 in either edge, at 4'5 and 6*5 cm. from the end. 



1 RYDER I, p. 318, Fig. 17 b. 2 THALBITZER I, p. 484, Fig. 63. 



3 Shown by THALBITZEK loc. cit. p. 531. The implement from the Germania Ex- 

 pedition (Fig. 103), however, which is 40 cm. long, is given on a smaller scale 

 than the two others, of which Fig. 104 is stated as 39 cm. 



