NO.    I  ARCHEOLOGY    OF    ST.    LAWRENCE    ISLAND COLLINS  35 1 
have  openings  (Mason,  1891,  pis.  63,  fig.  4;  65,  fig.  4;  67,  figs,  2,  3; 
Nelson,  1899,  pi.  47,  fig.  4)  ;  and  the  same  is  true  of  some  slightly 
older  specimens  from  the  Arctic  coast  (Mathiassen,  1930  a,  pi.  4,  fig. 
10;  pi.  5,  fig.  16;  pi.  10,  figs.  9,  10).  Turning  to  the  Thule  culture, 
we  find  both  the  plain  handle  and  the  handle  with  large  central  open- 
ings (e.  g.,  Mathiassen,  1927,  vol.  i,  pis.  23,  24).  As  Mathiassen 
lias  pointed  out  (1927,  vol.  2,  p.  87),  the  form  with  the  hole  is  very 
likely  the  prototype  of  the  two-armed  eastern  type,  whereas  the  more 
widely  spread  tanged  form  has  probably  been  derived  from  the  Thule 
type  with  thickened  overhanging  grip  (Mathiassen,  1927,  vol.  i,  \A. 
24,  fig.  2).  The  earliest  form  of  all  is  undoubtedly  the  plain  handle 
without  a  hole,  the  type  that  has  been  in  use  in  Alaska  from  the  Old 
Bering  Sea  period  up  to  the  present  time.  The  later  North  Alaskan 
type  with  central  hole  is  presumably  one  of  the  Thule  elements  intro- 
duced within  the  past  few  centuries. 
Fat  Scrapers 
The  Gambell  finds  show  the  antiquity  of  the  cup-shaped  fat  scraper 
of  ivory  which  is  such  a  characteristic  implement  of  the  modern 
Alaskan  Eskimos.  The  Old  Bering  Sea  types,  however,  exhibit  a 
wide  range  of  variation  and  include  no  examples  exactly  similar  to 
the  modern  type,  although  the  prototype  of  the  latter  is  no  doubt 
represented  by  the  shallow  but  rounded  form  illustrated  in  plate  51, 
figures  9,  II.  The  oldest  form  is  rather  long  and  narrow;  it  has  a 
tlat  or  rounded  bottom,  upright  or  slightly  flaring  walls  and  is  open 
at  both  ends  (pi.  13,  fig.  8  ;  pi.  17,  figs,  i,  2  ;  pi.  30,  figs.  5-7  ;  pi.  51,  fig. 
8).  It  is  a  type  which  has  not  been  reported  from  any  other  locality. 
The  Punuk  type  (pi.  78,  fig.  14)  which  is  slightly  curved  and  has  only 
one  edge  sharpened,  has  likewise  not  been  found  elsewhere.  In  the 
east  the  cup-shaped  fat  scraper  is  known  from  a  single  example  from 
one  of  the  Thule  sites  (Mathiassen,  1927,  vol.  i,  pi.  53,  fig.  i)  in  a 
form  more  like  the  modern  Alaskan  examples  than  the  older  ones  from 
St.  Lawrence.  Archeological  information  from  northern  Alaska  will 
be  necessary  in  order  to  determine  the  exact  relationship  between  the 
Thule  and  Western  types. 
Needle  Cases 
The  needle  cases  of  the  Old  Bering  Sea  period  (pi.  13,  fig.  5  ;  pi.  17, 
figs.  4-9)  are  of  interest  because  of  the  light  they  throw  on  the 
problem  of  the  original  form  of  the  needle  case  and  of  the  relation- 
ship between  the  various  modern  forms,  questions  concerning  which 
there  has  been  considerable  discussion. 
