350  SMITHSONIAN    MISCELLANEOUS    COLLECTIONS  VOL.    96 
is  afforded  by  a  check-stami:>ed  sherd,  identical  with  the  St.  Lawrence 
example,  reported  from  an  Iron  Age  site  on  Kola  Bay.  northern  Russia 
(  Schmidt,  pi.  6,  fig.  4). 
Baleen  Vessels 
Baleen  vessels  (pi.  53)  are  among  those  elements  that  have  been 
present  from  the  Old  Bering  Sea  period  to  the  present  time.  They  are 
in  general  use  from  Cireenland  to  Alaska  and  are  evidently  an  old ' 
element  in  l^skimo  culture  (Mathiassen.  1927,  vol.  2,  p.  107).  Rela- 
tionship between  the  baleen  vessel,  which  is  found  only  among  the 
Eskimos,  and  the  birch  bark  and  wooden  vessels,  which  have  a  much 
wider  distribution  in  northern  America  and  northern  and  central  Asia, 
is  clearly  indicated  by  similarities  in  the  stitching  along  the  sides,  by 
the  method  of  attaching  the  bottom  to  the  sides,  and  by  the  shape. 
The  technique  of  fastening  the  sides  together  by  stitching  and  of 
attaching  a  separate  bottom  would  seem  especially  designed  for  pliable 
materials  like  baleen  and  birch  bark  ;  the  wooden  vessels  of  the  Alaskan 
Eskimos  and  Indians  which  are  made  in  the  same  way  might  therefore 
be  regarded  as  imitations  of  these  forms.  As  to  which  of  the  two 
forms — the  birch  bark  or  the  baleen — is  the  older,  there  is  no  clear 
evidence,  although  it  would  se^m  plausible  to  suppose  that  the  birch 
bark  vessel  was  the  original  form  and  the  baleen  vessel  a  substitute 
employed  only  by  the  Eskimos. 
Women's  Knives 
The  Old  Bering  Sea  ulus  have  slate  blades  which  are  more  or  less 
oval  in  shape  with  a  straight  or  curving  edge.  The  handles,  of  wood 
or  ivory,  are  either  straight,  rounded  or  crescent  shaped  (pi.  51, 
figs.  1-7).  Two  of  them  are  decorated  (pi.  12,  fig.  12;  pi.  14,  fig.  6). 
Some,  from  the  Hillside  site,  had  no  handles  at  all,  the  slate  blade 
having  been  held  directly  in  the  hand  (pi.  39,  fig.  3).  The  prevailing 
form  of  the  Punuk  stage  (pi.  78,  figs.  9,  10,  12,  13)  is  very  similar  to 
the  Old  Bering  Sea  type ;  but  a  new  form  has  appeared  (pi.  78,  fig.  1 1  ; 
pi.  82,  fig.  30)  which  is  pointed  at  one  end,  squarish  at  the  other, 
with  a  large  hole  in  which  is  hung  an  ornamental  link.  An  earlier 
Punuk  form  is  even  more  elaborate,  with  a  wide  ringlike  opening  at 
one  end  for  the  index  finger  and  grooves  on  the  sides  for  the  thumb 
and  other  fingers  (pi.  22,  fig.  i).  One  of  the  Old  Bering  Sea  handles 
also  has  a  groove  for  the  index  finger  (pi.  51,  fig.  5). 
Most  of  the  modern  Alaskan  ulus  have  plain  handles  like  the  pre- 
vailing Old  Bering  Sea  and  Punuk  forms  but  there  are  some  which 
