de Laguna] ARCHEOLOGY, YAKUTAT BAY AREA, ALASKA. 165 



Bone or wooden combs were used for dressing the hair of ordinary 

 persons among the Tlingit (Niblack, 1890, pp. 259, figs. 11, c, d). 

 Possibly the Yakutat comb belonged to a shaman, since Tlingit 

 shamans used combs to hold up their long tangled hair, not to comb it 

 (Swanton, 1908, fig. 116). Furthermore, this specimen came from 

 the Storage House, where two figurines were found which may also 

 have been associated with shamanism (see pp. 172-175). 



The carved one-piece comb of wood, less often of bone, is common 

 on the Northwest Coast (Drucker, 1950, Traits 605, 606; Barnett, 

 1939, Trait 1175). The Yakutat specimen marks the northwestern 

 limit of this distribution, since no one-piece combs are known from 

 the Aleut, Pacific Eskimo, or Copper River Eyak, except for a few 

 presumed copies of Russian combs (de Laguna, 1947, pp. 222 ff.; 

 Birket-Smith and de Laguna, 1938, p. 60; Bu'ket-Smith, 1953, p. 69). 

 Instead, the composite comb, made of separate tines lashed together, 

 is the only type known archeologically from southwestern Alaska. 

 The one-piece comb of bone or ivory is, however, the characteristic 

 northern Eskimo type (dating back at least to the Old Bering Sea 

 culture), and would appear to be related to the wooden comb on the 

 Northwest Coast. Possibly this form was once used in southwestern 

 Alaska, perhaps of wood since no examples have survived, or the 

 links in its distribution are to be sought in the little-known interior 

 (de Laguna, 1947, pp. 222 ff.). 



OBJECTS OF POSSIBLE RITUAL SIGNIFICANCE 



BAND OF RYEGRASS STEMS 



Part of a fragile band made of sections of ryegi'ass stems strung 

 together (fig. 23, d, d') was found under the floor of the Storage House 

 in Old Town II. The grass tubes, 3 cm. long and about 0.5 cm. in 

 diameter, were laced together with what appear to be grass fibers. 

 The original length of the band could not be determined, although 

 several dozen tubes were recovered. 



Our informants were unable to explain this object, although some- 

 thing similar, made of dentalium shells and glass beads, was obtained 

 in trade from the Tsimshian and was worn as a hair ornament by 

 little girls and young women of wealthy families. The hair was 

 drawn tightly back and passed through a ring (preferably of drift 

 bamboo) at the nape, to wliich the long dangling ornament was tied. 

 As one informant explained, "When you move, it's like the wind wav- 

 ing the bushes. It makes you grow." It is possible that this band of 

 grass stems was made by children in imitation of the valuable dcntalia 

 ornament. 



If this interpretation is correct, it would indicate that the modern 

 ornament was worn in prehistoric times. We can find something 



693,-818— 64 12 



