NO.    I  ARCHEOLOCY    OF    ST.    LAWRENCP:    ISLAND COLLINS  275 
sleeping  platforms  along  three  sides,  and  absence  of  the  elaborate 
storm  roof)  are  features  which  it  shares  with  the  houses  of  west 
and  southwest  Alaska.  The  Kamchadal  house,  therefore,  is  closer 
to  these  Alaskan  forms  than  is  the  Koryak  house,  despite  the  fact 
that  one  typical  Alaskan  feature — the  entrance  room — is  lacking  in 
the  Kamchadal  house.  However,  it  is  the  absence  of  this  very  feature, 
and  the  presence  of  a  ladder  and  roof  entrance,  that  brings  the  Kam- 
chadal house  into  direct  relationship  with  another  Alaskan  form,  that 
of  the  Aleutian  Islands. 
The  Gilyak,  who  occupy  the  northern  half  of  Sakhalin  Island  and 
the  adjoining  coast  of  the  mainland  at  the  mouth  of  the  Amur  River, 
possess  a  winter  house  of  the  general  Kamchadal-Koryak  type  (v. 
Schrenck,  1881,  pp.  322,  323;  Jochelson,  1905-09,  p.  462;  1907,  pp. 
120,  121).  It  is  square  in  outline  and  excavated  to  a  depth  of  3  or 
4  feet.  The  roof  timbers  are  supported  by  four  central  uprights. 
Sleeping  platforms  are  placed  along  the  rear  and  side  walls.  Instead 
of  being  continuous  there  may  be  a  break  in  the  platforms  at  the  two 
back  corners,  which  are  left  open  to  serve  as  a  storage  space.  The 
fireplace  is  at  the  center  of  the  floor,  and  the  smoke  escapes  through 
an  opening  in  the  roof  above.  The  house  is  entered  through  a  short 
passageway,  the  floor  of  which  is  somewhat  higher  than  that  of  the 
house.  On  the  occasion  of  the  Bear  Festival  the  Ciilyak  enter  the  house 
through  the  roof  opening  instead  of  through  the  passage,  and  the 
flesh  and  skin  of  the  bear  as  well  as  other  sacred  objects  connected 
with  the  ceremony  are  taken  into  and  removed  from  the  house  in 
the  same  manner.  Sternberg  and  Jochelson  are  of  the  opinion  that 
the  ceremonial  use  of  the  roof  opening  as  an  entrance  is  an  indication 
that  in  the  past  this  was  the  regular  form  of  entrance,  just  as  in  the 
Kamchadal  and  Koryak  houses,  a  supposition  which  appears  reason- 
able in  view  of  the  many  cultural  resemblances  between  all  three  of 
these  Palae-Asiatic  tribes. 
The  resemblances  between  the  Gilyak  house  and  those  of  west  and 
southwest  Alaska  are  unmistakable.  The  presence  of  an  entrance 
passage  instead  of  a  roof  entrance  serves  to  bring  the  Gilyak  house 
even  closer  than  the  Kamchadal  house  to  the  Alaskan  forms. 
Originally  the  Ainu  lived  in  underground  houses  which  were  proba- 
bly similar  to  those  of  the  Gilyak,  but  of  lighter  construction.  Ac- 
cording to  Schrenck  (p.  333),  the  Ainu  houses  on  the  southern  part 
of  Sakhalin  Island  had  an  entrance  room  with  steps  leading  down 
into  the  living  room.  Larger  houses  had  two  hearths  at  the  front  of 
the  room  near  the  entrance,  with  separate  openings  in  the  roof  for 
the  escape  of  the  smoke.    Smaller  houses  had  a  single  hearth,  placed 
