de Laguna] ARCHEOLOGY, YAKUT AT BAY AREA, ALASKA ] 27 



Yakutat some of the larger slate blades were leaf shaped, while others 

 were tanged, especially since both shapes are represented among the 

 smaller slate and bone arrowheads described below. 



Double-edged slate blades, with or without tangs, and of various 

 sizes, are widely distributed types among tlie Pacific Eskimo, and are 

 apparently older than forms with barbs (de Laguna, 1947, p. 174; 

 1956, pp. 155, 270; Heizer, 1956, pp. 50 f.). Drucker (1943, pp. 42, 

 120, 123 f., fig. 7, a, b) reports both tanged and untanged forms from 

 the Tlingit. They are rare among the Tsimshian, and virtually absent 

 on the central Northwest Coast, but become common again in ancient 

 sites of the Coast Salish area, especially jVIarpole (Eburne), and Whalen 

 Farm I and II. Large slate weapon blades with hexagonal cross section 

 were common at Locarno Beach on the Eraser Delta, as were other 

 double-edged slate blades (Borden, 1950, pp. 16, 20; 1951, pi. ii, 1-3; 

 1962). King (1950, pp. 30, 34, fig. 11) finds the large leaf-shaped types 

 the earliest at Cattle Point on San Juan Island, with smaller blades, 

 stemmed forms and triangular shapes appearing later; also that there 

 is in general a parallel development of slate blades in the Gulf of 

 Georgia — Eraser River area and in Pacific Eskimo territory. Borden 

 attributes this to diffusion of slate grinding from the ancient inhabi- 

 tants of the Coast Salish area to the north. 



AWLLIKE SLATE POINTS 



From Old Town III, Old Town I, and from Old Town II or III 

 there are three fragments of slender slate blades, presumably for small 

 lances, that resemble the points of awls. Two narrow strips of sawed 

 slate from Old Town I (fig. 14,/) may be unfinished points of the same 

 type. On the basis of these fragments we can deduce that the blades 

 were probably over 8.5 cm, long, and were about 1.5 cm. mde and 

 0.5 cm. thick, rounded in section at the point, but faceted further 

 down. The fragment of unknown age has a pronounced diamond- 

 shaped cross section, and a butt (fig. 14, h) from Old Town I has a 

 flattened hexagonal section, with a small tang set off by a pair of 

 notches to facilitate hafting. 



Many slate points, presumably used for lances by the Pacific 

 Eskimo and Northwest Coast Indians, are very long and slender. 

 They range from heavier faceted points like Drucker's type II 

 "bayonet points" (1943, p. 42, fig. 7, e, f) to "pencils," that are 



Figure 13. — Blades and points for large weapons, a. Bone blade for lance or dagger, from 

 Mound B, upper levels, Old Town III (No. 292), drawn by Donald F. McGeein; b, iron 

 dagger with cord-wrapped handle, from Diyaguna'Et (No. Dy/3), drawn by Donald F. 

 McGeein; c, modern Yakutat salmon harpoonhead, made from a file, sketched in a smoke- 

 house on the Ankau lagoon by F. de Laguna; d, iron blade for lance, reportedly found on 

 the ocean beach near Nessudat, sketched at Yakutat by F. de Laguna. 



