NO.    I  ARCHEOLOGY    OF    ST.    LAWRENCE    ISLAND COLLINS  I45 
it  lacks  the  rivet  hole  characteristic  of  type  2.  Another  (cut  29,  36 
in.),  is  half  of  a  compound  knife  handle,  made  to  enclose  a  long,  taper- 
ing, and  slightly  curved  tang.  The  third  handle,  from  cut  7,  51  inches, 
approaches  the  second  main  class  of  knife  handles,  of  bone  or  ivory, 
described  below.  It  has  a  socket  3  cm  long  and  1.2  cm  deep  opening 
both  on  the  side  and  at  the  end ;  there  is  a  small  shoulder  to  hold 
the  lashing,  which  passed  around  the  side  on  which  the  socket  opens, 
showing  that  the  cutting  part  of  the  blade  projected  above  the  tip- — 
in  other  words  that  the  handle  was  provided  with  an  end  blade  in 
spite  of  the  appearance  of  a  side  socket. 
The  width  of  the  blade  slits  or  sockets — from  2  to  5  mm — indicates 
that  all  of  the  wooden  knife  handles  were  fitted  with  stone  blades. 
Ivoj-y  and  bone  handles. — There  are  62  knife  handles  of  ivory 
and  bone  from  Miyowagh,  among  which  the  following  types  can  be 
recognized. 
Type  I  (pi.  38,  figs.  5-7). — Consists  of  two  pieces  which  were  lashed 
together  to  enclose  a  small  blade  at  one  end,  sometimes  at  both  ends, 
blade  being  set  in  a  short  narrow  socket  with  the  opposite  side  rough- 
ened or  cut  away,  leaving  a  more  or  less  prominent  tip  for  holding 
the  lashing  in  place ;  occasionally  a  short  transverse  or  longitudinal 
slot  for  pegging  the  two  halves  together.  Length  range.  5  to  15  cm  ; 
average  length  8  to  9  cm. 
This  is  the  well-known  Eskimo  tool  used  for  cutting  bone  or  ivory^ — 
the  "  antler  chisel  "  of  Murdoch,  the  "  whittling  knife  "  of  Mathiassen. 
In  all,  56  were  found,  48  of  ivory  and  8  of  bone.  Since  the  size  and 
shape  of  the  blade  socket  may  have  a  bearing  on  the  kind  of  blade 
used,  it  may  be  well  to  consider  this  feature.  On  this  basis  the  type  i 
handles  fall  into  three  rather  distinct  groups:  (i)  with  rather  large, 
straight  blade  sockets — 12  to  30  mm  long,  about  2  mm  wide,  and  3 
to  10  mm  deep  ;  (2)  with  very  small,  straight  sockets — 4  to  8  mm  long, 
about  I  mm  wide,  and  1.5  to  3  mm  deep;  (3)  with  large,  curved 
socket,  II  to  28  mm  long,  2  to  5  mm  wide,  and  2.5  to  8  mm  deep. 
There  are  19  of  the  first  group,  distributed  as  follows:  Cut  7,  28 
inches.  Cut  8,  32  inches  (2,  one  of  bone).  Cut  17,  36  inches.  Cut 
18.  30  inches  (pi.  38,  fig.  6)  ;  40  inches ;  42  inches.  Cut  19,  12  inches ; 
2/  inches ;  32  inches.  Cut  23,  14  inches  (bone)  ;  18  inches ;  52  inches ; 
68  inches.  Cut  27,  16  inches  (socket  at  both  ends)  ;  44  inches  (bone)  ; 
46  inches  ;  52  inches  (socket  at  both  ends).   Cut  28,  31  inches. 
Of  the  second  group,  with  very  small  blade  sockets,  there  are  31 
examples:  Cut  i,  55  inches.  Cut  2,  28  inches  (2).  Cut  7,  28  inches; 
46  inches  (2.  one  with  sockets  at  both  ends — pi.  38,  fig.  7).  Cut  8. 
32  inches.   Cut  9,  25  inches;  depth  unknown  (2).   Cut  17,  27  inches; 
