NO.    1  ARCHKOLOGY    OF    ST.    LAWRENCE    ISLAND — COLLINS  II3 
Closed  socket  heads  were  much  less  common  during  the  Old  Bering 
Sea  period  than  those  with  ojien  sockets.  Types  I-IV,  represented 
by  only  a  few  specimens,  played  an  unimportant  part  as  compared 
with  type  V.  However,  this  may  not  have  been  the  case  everywhere, 
for  type  III  (which  was  not  found  at  Gambell)  seems  to  have  been 
fairly  common  on  the  Diomedes.  The  predominant  closed  socket  types 
at  Gambell  are  types  V  x  and  V  y.  The  former,  with  the  line  hole  and 
blade  slit  parallel,  was  of  less  importance  than  the  latter.  The  most 
striking  feature  of  this  type  is  its  small  size.  On  the  other  hand,  type 
V  y,  with  the  line  hole  and  blade  slit  at  right  angles,  displays  the  same 
range  of  variation  in  regard  to  size  and  ornamentation  as  was  shown 
by  the  open  socket  types  III  x  and  III  y.  Thus  the  older  specimens, 
with  Old  Bering  Sea  decoration,  are  for  the  most  part  large ;  while 
the  younger  forms  (to  be  described  later),  which  are  either  plain 
or  decorated  in  early  Punuk  style,  are  considerably  smaller. 
One  important  distinction  between  the  open  and  closed  socket  heads 
of  the  Old  Bering  Sea  period  is  in  the  form  of  the  spur.  In  the 
great  majority  of  cases  the  open  socket  types  have  elaborate,  divided 
spurs,  which  have  been  described  above  as  trifurcated,  bifurcated,  or 
irregular ;  in  fact,  there  are  only  three  examples  that  have  single  spurs, 
plate  23,  figures  9,  10,  and  one  other  from  Miyowagh,  cut  25,  depth 
18  inches.  Heads  of  this  type,  with  single  rather  than  divided  spurs, 
will  be  described  later  under  the  designations  of  types  III  (a)  x 
and  III  (a)  y.  When  we  come  to  the  closed  socket  heads,  however, 
we  see  that  the  single,  lateral  spur  is  the  prevailing  form.  Types  V  x 
and  V  y,  comprising  more  than  90  percent  of  all  the  closed  socket 
heads,  have  only  this  type  of  spur ;  and  the  same  is  true  of  the  less 
common  types,  IV  y  and  I  x,  although  in  the  latter  the  spur  is  placed 
medially  instead  of  laterally.  The  only  closed  socket  types  possessing 
divided  spurs  are  types  II  x,  III  x  and  Illy,  the  last  two  being  known 
as  yet  only  from  the  Little  Diomede  Island. 
In  conformity  with  the  extensive  use  of  ivory  during  the  Old  Bering 
Sea  period  is  the  fact  that  the  harpoon  heads  were  made  almost  ex- 
clusively from  this  material.  Only  four  harpoon  heads  in  the  entire 
series  are  made  of  bone,  one  of  these  being  the  specimen  shown  in 
plate  25,  figure  ii.  In  the  Punuk  period,  as  we  shall  see  later,  bone 
harpoon  heads  become  somewhat  more  common,  although  the  use 
of  this  material  is  restricted  almost  entirely  to  forms  which  are  related 
in  one  way  or  another  to  the  Birnirk  type. 
Almost  invariably  the  harpoon  heads  were  made  from  the  tips  of 
very  small,  young  walrus  tusks.  This  is  clearly  indicated  by  the  fact 
that  in  practically  every  specimen  a  very  small  core  of  dentin,  less 
