322  SMITHSONIAN    MISCELLANEOUS    COLLECTIONS  VOL.    96 
(Mathiassen,  vol.  i,  pi.  4,  figs.  2-4).  The  smooth,  beveled  tang  is 
typical  of  the  Punuk  period  (pi.  ^t,,  fig.  8),  though  the  conical  form 
has  also  been  carried  over  (pi.  73,  fig.  4).  The  modern  St.  Lawrence 
form  with  its  abrupt,  prominent  shoulder  and  beveled  lower  end  (pi. 
7Zy  fig-  9)  is  a  further  specialization  of  the  Punuk  type  (pi.  73,  fig.  8). 
Ice  Creepers 
Old  Bering  Sea  ice  creepers  are  made  of  bone  or  baleen  and  have 
inserted  pegs  (pi.  37,  figs.  3-5)  ;  those  of  the  Punuk  stage  (pi.  75, 
figs.  23-25)  have  a  dififerent  outline  and  have  the  pegs  either  inserted 
or  carved  in  relief  like  the  modern  type  (pi.  75,  fig.  26).  Ice  creepers 
have  not  been  reported  from  other  ancient  sites  in  Alaska,  but  since 
full  information  on  the  excavations  is  lacking,  this  should  not  be 
regarded  as  conclusive.  However,  they  were  not  found  at  any  of  the 
Thule  sites.  They  are  used  by  the  Labrador  Eskimos  (Turner,  1894, 
p.  217,  fig.  43)  in  the  form  of  crimped  strips  of  sealskin  sewed  to 
the  sole  of  the  boot.  The  Point  Barrow  Eskimos  use  two  crescent- 
shaped  strips  of  skin  for  this  purpose  (Murdoch,  1892,  p.  135,  fig.  82). 
The  Alaskan  Eskimo  and  Chukchee  ice  creepers  (Nelson,  1899,  pp. 
215,  216;  Bogoras,  1904-09,  vol.  2,  p.  263,  fig.  195)  are  all  similar 
to  the  modern  St.  Lawrence  type,  whereas  those  of  the  Koryak 
(Jochelson,  1905-09,  vol.  2,  p.  605,  fig.  130)  are  of  iron  with  only 
two  spikes.  Ice  creepers  are  also  used  in  Kamchatka  and  China 
(Mason,  1896,  p.  411),  Afghanistan  (Zarubin,  1916,  pi,  7,  &)  and 
Finland  (Sirelius,  1934,  p.  116,  pi.  55,  fig.  244).  It  is  interesting  to 
observe  that  the  type  used  in  Scandinavia  during  the  Viking  period 
was  introduced  into  Greenland,  one  of  them  having  recently  been 
excavated  at  the  old  Norse  settlement  of  Brattahlid  (Norlund  and 
Stenberger,   1934,  fig.  100,  D). 
Sealing  Scratchers 
The  sealing  scratcher  seems  not  to  have  been  known  during  the  Old 
Bering  Sea  period.  The  Punuk  type  (pi.  75,  fig.  17)  differs  from  those 
of  the  Thule  culture  and  most  of  the  modern  Alaskan  examples  in 
being  longer  and  narrower  and  in  having  only  two  prongs.  The  speci- 
men from  Birnirk,  figured  by  Mason  (1930,  pi.  i)  resembles  the 
Thule  type  more  than  it  does  the  later  Alaskan  forms. 
Throwing  Boards  and  Bird  Darts 
The  Old  Bering  Sea  throwing  boards  (pi.  37,  figs,  i,  2)  are  unlike 
any  of  the  modern  types   (Nelson,  p.   154;  Murdoch,  p.  217),  but 
