NO.    I  ARCHEOLOGY    OF    ST.    LAWRENCE    ISLAND — COLLINS  263 
entrance,  through  which  descent  is  made  by  means  of  a  short  notched 
log  to  a  platform  used  for  storage  purposes,  4  feet  above  the  floor 
and  extending  the  length  of  the  alcove.  There  is  a  similar  alcove  just 
beyond,  on  the  west  side,  the  roof  of  which  slopes  directly  to  the  floor 
at  about  a  45°  angle.  Opposite  are  two  narrow  recesses,  one  5  feet 
long  by  2  feet  wide  and  the  other  6  feet  2  inches  long  and  3  feet  7 
inches  wide;  the  floors  of  these  recesses  are  14  inches  above  the  floor 
of  the  entrance  room.  In  the  top  of  the  larger  recess  is  an  opening 
26  inches  long  by  21  inches  wide,  which  might  have  served  as  a  third 
entrance  but  which  was  more  likely  a  smoke  hole  since  such  annexes 
were  commonly  used  as  cooking  rooms.  The  various  entrances,  pas- 
sages and  alcoves  with  their  different  floor  levels  and  roof  slopes  give 
to  this  entrance  room  a  more  irregular  appearance  than  is  customary, 
though  the  other  houses  at  Metlatavik  also  have  a  few  alcoves  and 
deep,  narrow  storage  recesses. 
Connecting  the  entrance  room  with  the  inner  living  room  is  a  pas- 
sage (B)  10  feet  9  inches  long  and  2  feet  4  inches  wide.  The  floor 
level  of  the  passage  and  entrance  room  is  2  feet  lower  than  that  of 
the  inner  room.  Where  the  passage  opens  into  the  inner  room  it  is 
only  23  inches  wide  and  21  inches  high,  just  large  enough  for  an  aver- 
age-sized man  to  squeeze  through. 
The  inner  or  dwelling  room  (C)  is  17  feet  5  inches  long  and  1 1  feet 
3  inches  wide.  The  floor  and  walls  are  of  heavy  hewed  planks.  The 
roof  construction  differs  markedly  from  that  of  the  St.  Lawrence, 
Nunivak,  and  other  Alaskan  houses  south  of  Norton  Sound.  There 
are  no  separate  upright  supports,  but  instead  the  roof  is  gabled,  being 
supported  by  two  pairs  of  horizontal  beams  5  feet  apart  extending 
across  the  width  of  the  room,  their  ends  resting  on  the  tops  of  the 
upright  wall  pieces.  The  particular  wall  uprights  which  support  the 
roof  beams  are  at  the  center  of  the  NW.  and  SE.  walls  and  are 
higher  than  the  other  wall  timbers.  The  NE.  and  SW.  sections  of 
the  roof,  consisting  of  small  logs,  are  thus  made  to  slope  downward, 
the  lower  ends  of  the  logs  resting  on  the  tops  of  the  wall  pieces,  and 
the  upper  ends  on  the  horizontal  transverse  roof  beams.  The  central 
portion  of  the  roof  is  flat,  consisting  of  small  split  logs  laid  across 
the  roof  beams.  At  the  center  is  an  opening  28  by  24  inches  for  light 
and  ventilation. 
Across  the  back  end  of  the  room  is  a  single  wide  sleeping  platform 
3  feet  2  inches  above  the  floor  and  extending  5  feet  7  inches  from 
the  wall.  It  is  constructed  of  heavy  planks  laid  lengthwise  across  the 
room  and  is  supported  by  two  logs  in  addition  to  cleats  at  the  ends. 
At  Metlatavik  we  leave  behind  the  type  of  house  that  prevails  be- 
tween Bering  Strait  and  Bristol  Bay,  a  house  in  which  there  was  a 
