376  SMITHSONIAN    MISCELLANEOUS    COLLECTIONS  VOL.    96 
In  our  discussion  of  houses  and  lamps  it  was  stated  that  the  dis- 
tribution seemed  to  point  to  these  having  been  introduced  into  Kam- 
chatka by  way  of  the  Aleutian  Islands  rather  than  from  Kamchatka 
to  the  Aleutians.  The  presence  of  the  above-mentioned  additional 
elements  of  south  Alaskan  culture  in  Kamchatka  strengthens  this 
view.  If  we  are  to  assume  a  genetic  relationshii^ — and  the  resemblances 
in  some  cases  are  so  close  that  we  can  hardly  do  otherwise — it  is  diffi- 
cult to  see  how  the  connection  could  have  been  established  other  than 
by  way  of  the  Aleutian  chain.  Most  of  the  elements  (refuge  island, 
notched  and  grooved  stones,  stone  with  hole,  grinding  stone  and  slab, 
oval  and  "  sad  iron  "  shaped  stone  lamp,  stone  lamp  with  ring)  are 
among  the  most  characteristic  forms  of  south  Alaskan  culture,  par- 
ticularly that  of  the  Aleutians,  Kodiak  Island,  and  Cook  Inlet,  but 
are  lacking  in  the  north ;  therefore,  they  could  hardly  have  passed 
over  at  Bering  Strait.  As  for  their  occurrence  in  Asia,  it  seems  that 
just  as  in  the  case  of  the  roof  entrance  they  are  practically  restricted 
to  that  part  of  the  east  Asiatic  littoral  lying  closest  to  the  Aleutians. 
Jochelson  seems  to  attach  no  importance  to  the  finding  of  what 
seems  to  have  been  a  labret  at  an  old  site  in  Kamchatka.  He  does  not 
illustrate  the  specimen  and  merely  lists  it  as  follows  (1928,  p.  43)  : 
"A  polished  marble  object  resembling  a  labret  (2163),  but  it  must 
be  noted  that  no  labrets  were  used  as  personal  ornaments  by  the 
ancient  Kamchadal."  However,  as  de  Laguna  has  observed,  the  state- 
ments of  the  natives  as  to  what  elements  may  or  may  not  have  been 
used  in  ancient  times  are  hardly  conclusive  (de  Laguna,  1934.  p.  206). 
l^urthermore,  a  labret  has  recently  been  reported  from  an  ancient 
site  on  the  Kurile  Islands  (Baba,  1934,  pi.  i,  fig.  12),  so  that  there 
is  no  reason  to  doubt  its  occurrence  in  Kamchatka  as  well. 
The  list  of  characteristic  south  Alaskan  elements  occurring  also  in 
Kamchatka,  could  be  extended  considerably  by  including  other  ele- 
ments of  wider  distribution  in  both  America  and  Asia.  The  special 
forms,  however,  are  those  which  have  significance  in  this  connection  ; 
and  in  view  of  the  fact  that  in  general  these  have  a  much  wider 
and  usually  a  more  sporadic  distribution  in  America  than  in  Asia — 
where  they  arc  confined  to  the  areas  nearest  the  Aleutians — it  seems 
reasonable  to  assume  that  they  were  originally  American  elements 
which  were  introduced  into  Kamchatka. 
Most  of  the  more  recent  writers  who  have  discussed  the  problem 
of  Asiatic  and  American  relationships  have  felt  that  the  Aleutian 
Islands  were  not  a  migration  route  into  America.  This  view,  it  would 
seem,  is  entirely  correct,  for  it  is  difficult  to  imagine  Asiatics  leaving 
the  mainland  in  Kamchatka  and  setting  out  eastward  over  the  open 
