84  SMITHSONIAN    MISCELLANEOUS    COLLECTIONS  VOL.    96 
of  style  3,  the  desi^i  as  a  whole  should  probably  be  classed  as  style  2. 
The  execution  is  not  particularly  good  and  is  carried  out  with  more 
of  a  flourish  than  is  customary.  The  design  differs  from  others  of 
comparable  complexity  in  that  the  component  elements  are  enclosed 
in  a  single  field.  The  most  prominent  part  of  the  design — the  lower, 
as  shown — takes  the  form  of  a  large  bilobed  figure  with  the  char- 
acteristic upcurving  end  which  is  usually  responsible  for  the  animal- 
like appearance.  In  the  present  instance,  however,  the  filler  elements 
seem  to  carry  no  further  implication  of  zoomorphism.  The  pair  of 
large  concentric  circles  in  the  two  lobes  are  placed  too  far  back  to 
resemble  "  eyes  ",  and  the  three  other  circles  toward  the  end  are  like- 
wise inconsistent  with  such  an  interpretation.  To  the  uppermost  pair 
of  circles  is  attached  a  long  single  spur,  or  V-shaped  figure,  pointing 
obliquely  downward.  The  two  lower  circles  are  each  formed  of  two 
lines  with  the  space  between  filled  with  numerous  cross  lines ;  these 
circles  have  a  pair  of  opposite  spurs  attached  and  they  differ  from 
the  two  circles  above  in  the  further  particular  of  having  no  dot  or 
"  nucleus  "  at  the  center.  Between  the  two  lower  circles  is  another, 
which  is  nucleated  and  concentric,  with  two  backward-pointing,  hach- 
ured  spurs  attached.  A  series  of  five  parallel  lines,  the  center  one 
more  deeply  incised  than  the  others,  begins  at  the  lower  end  of  one 
of  the  uppermost  circles,  and  curving  downward,  continues  up  to  join 
the  opposite  circle.  At  the  lower  end  of  the  design  is  an  oval  figure 
flanked  by  hachured  triangles,  so  opposed  as  to  appear  hourglass- 
shaped.  The  upper  borders  of  the  two  lobes  are  formed  of  rather 
carelessly  made  double  lines  with  cross  lines  or  spurs  in  between. 
Where  the  cross  lines  are  relatively  uniform  as  to  length  and  breadth, 
they  produce  a  curving  "  ladder  "  design ;  where  they  are  shorter  and 
thicker  at  one  end,  they  produce  only  the  effect  of  a  "  toothed  "  or 
spurred  line.  It  is  such  a  design — a  double  line,  part  of  which  is 
spurred  and  part  ladderlike — that  encloses  an  oval  panel,  the  long 
tapering  end  of  which  extends  down  between  the  two  lobes  of  the 
larger  figure.  At  the  center  of  this  oval  panel  is  another  prominent 
concentric  circle  (the  sixth)  with  two  large  V-shaped  spurs  attached. 
In  plate  16  are  shown  three  views,  drawings,  of  one  of  the  most 
splendid  examples  of  Old  Bering  Sea  art  thus  far  found.  It  comes 
from  cut  16,  depth  30  inches.  The  function  of  the  object  is  uncertain; 
the  hole  at  the  end  was  no  doubt  for  a  suspension  thong,  and  the 
two  broad,  smoothed  notches  on  the  sides  seem  clearly  designed  as 
finger  grips ;  the  hollow,  bifurcated  end  is  suggestive  of  a  scraper 
of  some  kind — perhaps  for  removing  the  fat  from  small  intestines — 
but  if  so,  it  is  a  type  not  previously  known.   The  general  conception 
