360  SMITHSONIAN    MISCELLANEOUS    COLLECTIONS  VOL.    96 
it  was  no  doubt  ancestral ;  whereas  Punuk  art  seems  to  represent  the 
style  from  which  Eskimo  art  south  of  Norton  Sound  was  derived. 
The  general  Eskimo  character  of  the  Old  Bering  Sea  culture  is 
shown  (i)  by  the  large  number  of  basic  elements  which,  along  with 
the  Punuk,  it  possesses  in  common  with  modern  Alaskan  E.skimo  cul- 
ture; (2)  by  the  number  of  western  elements  which  it  exhibits  in 
special  (usually  more  elaboratae)  form;  and  (3)  by  the  fact  that  most 
of  the  elements  peculiar  to  it  are  themselves  of  an  essentially  Eskimo 
character. 
There  are,  however,  many  elements  of  modern  Alaskan  Eskimo 
culture  that  are  lacking  in  the  Old  Bering  Sea:  mauls  ;  mallets  ;  wooden 
dishes  with  separate  bottom ;  wooden  boxes  for  blades ;  whale  bone 
shaves  ;  sealing  scratchers  *  "  ;  sealing  indicators  ;  whaling  harpoon 
heads  *  ;  curved  handles  for  flint  flakers ;  bent  scraper  handles  with 
finger  grips ;  salmon  spears  * ;  jade  whetstones,  adz  blades,  etc. ; 
crooked  knives  *  ;  arrow  shaft  straighteners ;  blunt  bird  arrows  *  ; 
bird  bolas  *  ;  strengtheners  for  quivers  ;  wrist  guards  *  ;  sinew  twisters 
and  bow  braces  * ;  thimble  guards  * ;  trinket  boxes ;  work  bag  fast- 
eners ;  cord  attachers,  for  fastening  lines  together ;  crotch  harpoon 
rest  for  umiak  *  ;  net  sinkers,*  floats,  and  gages  ;  snowshoes  ;  armor  *  ; 
built-up  sledge  and  evidences  of  dog  traction ;  torsion  fox  traps ;  pic- 
tographic  art;  small  ivory  bird  figures  for  games;  masks;  labrets ; 
soapstone  lamps,  etc.  As  we  have  already  seen,  a  number  of  these 
elements  (those  marked  by  an  asterisk)  are  present  in  the  Punuk  stage, 
and  since  the  Punuk  contains  still  other  elements  of  Western  Eskimo 
culture  (those  listed  on  pp.  357-8),  it  represents  a  much  closer  ap- 
proach to  the  modern  Alaskan,  culture  than  does  the  Old  Bering 
Sea.  Two  of  the  elements  listed  above — masks  and  labrets — were  no 
doubt  derived  originally  from  the  Northwest  Coast.  The  St.  Law- 
rence Eskimos  and  their  Siberian  kinsmen  were  the  only  groups  of 
\\'estern  Eskimo  who  failed  to  adopt  these  features. 
Until  we  have  further  knowledge  of  archeological  conditions  in 
northeastern  Siberia  it  will  not  be  possible  to  know  definitely  whether 
certain  Old  Bering  Sea  and  Punuk  elements  thus  far  known  only  from 
St.  Lawrence  Island  are  of  local  origin  or  whether  like  many  others, 
they  were  introduced  from  Siberia.  In  view  of  its  peripheral  loca- 
tion and  partial  isolation,  it  would  seem  reasonable  to  suppose  that 
numerous  local  traits  might  have  developed  and  become  established 
on  St.  Lawrence  Island.  However,  the  information  at  our  disposal, 
scant   though   it    is,    indicates    a    remarkable   uniformity   of   culture 
"  Elements  marked  with  an  asterisk  are  present  in  the  Punuk  stage. 
