de I^nRuna] ARCHEOLOGY, YAKUT AT BAY AREA, ALASKA 151 



Notched stones for bolas and sinkers have already been discussed 

 at length (de Laguna, 1934, pp. 167 flF. ; 1956, p. 271). It is sufficient 

 to mention that they are widely distributed in southwestern Alaska, 

 although absent from Kachemak Bay I and Prince William Sound. 

 The Chugach and Eyak both lacked the bola, and usually employed 

 unshaped stones for sinkers (Birket-Smith and de Laguna, 1938, pp. 

 113, 120 ; Birket-Smith, 1953, p. 39). Although Drucker (1950, Traits 

 74 and 75, p. 239) records both grooved and unshaped sinkers from 

 the Northwest Coast, he finds that archeological notched, grooved, 

 and perforated stones are rare, and have not been found in collections 

 from the Tlingit and Haida (Drucker, 1943, pp. 57, 122, 124). Most 

 of the stones identified as sinkers from Cattle Point on San Juan 

 Island were perforated, although a few notched forms were also found 

 (King, 1950, pp. 36 ff., 40 ff.). 



BARBS FOR GAFF HOOKS 



Four bone specimens w^ere found which may have been barbs for 

 gaff hooks (fig. 18, a, j, g). It is less probable that they were side 

 prongs for fish spears. They range in length from 6.1 to 8.4 cm,, and 

 in cross section from 0.9 by 0.6 to 1.4 by 0.9 cm. One end is pointed, 

 the other scarfed for attachment; on the largest specimen there is a 

 ridge or shoulder opposite the scarf to hold the lashing. This barb 

 and two others are from Old Town III; one is from Old Town II. 

 Possibly some of the slightly curv^ed bone points of split rib (pi. 16, 

 l-n) may have served a similar function. 



Some kind of gaff hook was formerly used at Yakutat, according 

 to our informants, and while they recognized the picture of the three- 

 pronged fish spear used by the Chilkat (Drucker, 1950, Trait 47, fig. 

 on p. 238), they denied its use at Yakutat. Similar statements were 

 made by the Chugach and by the Tlingit at Angoon (de Laguna, 1960, 

 p. 116). 



Barbs somewhat similar to the Yakutat specimens have been found 

 on Prince William Sound, Kachemak Bay, Kodiak (?), and the Aleu- 

 tians (de Laguna, 1934, p. 195, pi. 43, 14, 15; 1956, p. 182, pi. 36, 15; 

 Heizer, 1956, p. 78). Some of these were undoubtedly lashed on, 

 others had narrow butts for insertion like specimens from Daxatkanada 

 near Angoon (de Laguna, 1960, pi. 9, k, I). It is unfortunate that 

 we do not know for what type of spear or gaff these barbs were 

 intended . 



The fish spear (leister) with two barbed side prongs and a central 

 prong is old in Eskimo culture and v.as used by a number of interior 

 tribes in the Northwest as far south as the Columbia River, although 

 it was of sporadic distribution on the Northwest Coast (de Laguna, 

 1947, p. 211 ; Drucker, 1950, Traits 46 and 47 ; Rostlund, 1952, map 35). 



