NO.    I  ARCHEOLOGY    OF    ST.    LAWRENCE    ISLAND — COLLINS  IO5 
The  bone  harpoon  head  shown  on  plate  24,  figure  ii,  differs  from 
others  of  the  group  in  having  the  spur  divided  into  three  sharp  prongs 
of  equal  length,  a  feature  which  is  characteristic  of  types  II  x  and 
II  y.  In  plate  24,  figure  12,  the  spur  is  also  trifurcated,  but  in  an 
entirely  different  manner.  It  is  essentially  a  lateral  spur,  for  its  most 
important  part — the  long  center  prong — continues  straight  down  the 
side,  at  right  angles  to  the  line  hole,  even  though  the  smaller  prongs 
curve  inward  toward  the  socket.  One  of  these  is  shorter  than  the 
other,  thereby  producing  an  asymmetry  of  the  spur;  otherwise  it  is 
very  similar  to  a  type  of  spur  found  on  dosed  socket  harpoon  heads 
of  the  Old  Bering  Sea  period  from  the  Diomede  Islands,  in  which  the 
two  smaller  prongs  are  of  equal  length  (pi.  27,  figs.  5-/).  The  spur 
of  plate  24,  figure  13,  although  broken,  seems  to  have  been  exactly 
similar  to  that  of  figure  12.  In  figure  15  the  spur  is  of  the  same 
general  shape,  although  there  is  only  one  projection  from  the  main 
prong.  Figures  14  and  16  are  examples  of  the  most  prevalent  form 
of  spur  associated  with  harpoon  heads  of  this  type.  The  spur  is 
flatter  than  those  just  described,  extending  beyond  the  mid  line  and 
to  some  extent  beneath  the  socket;  it  is  bifurcated,  with  the  inner 
prong  very  prominent.  Figures  17  and  18  exhibit  a  variation  of  this 
form  of  spur,  in  which  the  inner  prong  is  reduced  in  size.  In  figures 
21-23,  through  a  process  of  simplification,  the  elaborately  divided  spurs 
have  been  reduced  to  a  point  where  they  are  more  appropriately  de- 
scribed as  merely  "  irregular  ".  That  this  typological  distinction  has 
also  a  chronological  significance  is  seen  in  the  fact  that  these  three 
specimens  and  the  three  similar  ones  not  illustrated  are  all  from  the 
upper  levels  of  the  midden  at  depths  of  14,  16,  22  (2),  30  and  38 
inches.  In  figure  20  a  rounded  median  elevation  produces  a  thicken- 
ing of  the  spur  which  is  unusual. 
The  orientation  of  the  spur,  whether  to  the  right  or  left  of  the 
socket,  seems  to  have  no  significance,  about  the  same  number  of  speci- 
mens having  one  arrangement  as  the  other. 
Very  often  harpoon  heads  of  type  III  x  have  small  pointed  pro- 
jections or  barbs  along  the  edges.  In  most  cases  these  are  small  and 
distinctly  ornamental  (e.g.  pi.  24,  figs.  11-13)  ;  sometimes,  however, 
they  are  large  enough  to  have  served  as  real  barbs  (e.  g.,  figs.  14, 
17,  18)  even  though  they  still  form  an  essential  part  of  the  decora- 
tive scheme.  The  position  of  these  small  barbs  is  invariably  along 
the  edges  at  right  angles  to  the  line  hole,  and  they  are  present  only 
on  those  harpoon  heads  in  which  the  line  hole  and  blade  slit  are  parallel. 
Most  of  the  harpoon  heads  of  this  type  which  are  relatively  large, 
with  an  elaborately  shaped  spur,  are  decorated  in  Old  Bering  Sea 
