NO.    I  ARCHEOLOGY    OF    ST.    LAWRENCE    ISLAND COLLINS  I3 
be  more  Indian  than  Eskimo  ?  Might  it  not,  perhaps,  be  the  very  link- 
that  was  needed  to  bear  out  the  hyix)thesis,  based  on  the  findings  of 
the  Jesup  Expedition,  that  formerly  there  had  existed  a  close  cultural 
connection  between  the  Northwest  Coast  Indians  and  the  Palae- 
Asiatic  tribes  of  Siberia?  These  are  questions  which  can  hardly  be 
answered  on  the  basis  of  the  evidence  heretofore  available.  To  under- 
stand the  significance  of  the  Old  Bering  Sea  culture  and  its  relationship 
to  other  phases  of  Eskimo,  Indian,  and  Asiatic  culture,  it  is  essential 
that  we  have  full  knowledge  of  the  elements  of  which  it  is  composed. 
Following  the  initial  discoveries  of  Jenness  and  Hrdlicka,  the  writer 
has  engaged  in  four  seasons  of  field-work  in  Alaska.  Reconnaissance 
work  was  carried  on  along  the  Alaskan  coast  from  Bristol  Bay  to 
Point  Hope,  and  intensive  excavations  were  made  on  St.  Lawrence 
Island.  In  1930,  at  the  northwestern  end  of  St.  Lawrence  Island, 
I  had  the  good  fortune  finally  to  discover  a  pure  site  of  the  Old 
Bering  Sea  culture.  In  the  following  pages  the  results  of  the  1930 
investigations  will  be  presented ;  the  implement  types  of  the  Old 
Bering  Sea  culture  and  those  of  an  intermediate  stage  of  culture  will 
be  described,  and  their  significance  discussed. 
GEOGRAPHICAL  SETTING 
St.  Lawrence  Island,  the  largest  in  the  Bering  Sea,  lies  150  miles 
below  Bering  Strait,  100  miles  from  the  mainland  of  Alaska  and  40 
miles  from  Siberia.  It  is  about  100  miles  long,  extending  in  a  general 
northwest  to  southeast  direction,  and  has  an  average  width  of  about 
20  miles.  The  island,  which  has  never  been  accurately  charted  or 
explored  geologically,  is  mainly  of  volcanic  origin  though  occasional 
sedimentary  deposits  of  Tertiary  age  also  occur.  The  interior  is  for 
the  most  part  rugged  and  mountainous,  but  there  are  also  extensive 
stretches  of  marshy  tundra  covered  with  innumerable  lakes  and  a 
network  of  small  streams.  Some  of  the  peaks  and  plateaus  in  the 
central  and  eastern  sections  of  the  island  reach  a  height  of  1,500  feet 
or  more,  and  remain  snow-capped  throughout  the  year ;  at  the  western 
end  the  highest  elevations  are  along  the  coasts.  The  coast  line  is  bleak 
and  forbidding  in  appearance  with  bold  cliffs  of  basalt  descending 
steeply  to  the  rocky  beach  or  to  low  forelands  of  gravel  which  often 
extend  for  a  considerable  distance  seaward.  For  the  greater  part  of 
the  year  the  island  is  locked  in  ice,  which  does  not  finally  leave  its 
shores  until  late  in  June  or  July. 
Vegetation  is  of  the  usual  Arctic  variety,  that  in  the  higher  parts 
being  restricted  almost  entirely  to  mosses  and  lichens,  while  lower 
down  there  is  an  abundant  growth  of  dwarf  willows,  mosses,  grasses, 
