NELSON] BEADS AND EARRINGS 53 
are made along the outer border above the lobe. It is also common 
for men to have their ears pierced, particularly in the district between 
the Yukon and Kuskokwim, where they wear huge earrings, from which 
frequently hang strings of beads, extending under the chin from ear 
to ear in a long loop. The variety of earrings worn by the women in 
the vicinity of the Yukon and the Kuskokwim is very great, as shown 
by the series illustrated in plates xxiv and xxv; they are made of 
ivory, with occasional settings of beads or other objects. Elsewhere 
along the coast very much less variety in the ornamentation of these 
objects was observed. 
It is interesting to note that the greatest richness of ornamentation 
and variety in form of earrings is found among the people of the district 
south of the lower Yukon, which coincides with the elaborate style of 
their carvings on masks and other objects. 
Earrings worn by men of the tundra between the Yukon mouth and 
the lower Kuskokwim are made of ivory and are very large. They are 
usually rectangular and measure from an inch and a quarter to two 
inches in length by three-quarters of an inch to an inch and a quarter 
in width. Frequently there are four plane sides, but some of them 
have the lower end rounded, while others have this portion beveled 
from each side to the center. They commonly taper slightly from 
above downward. The front is excavated, leaving a narrow rim of 
ivory around the border, the sides of the excavation being parallel 
with the outline of the tablet-like piece forming the ornament. Fre- 
quently this excavated space is crossed midway by a narrow ridge of 
ivory, which subdivides the central opening into upper and lower divi- 
sions of equal size. This sunken area is then filled with some kind of 
cement, probably made from spruce gum, in which are set various 
shining objects. 
The following descriptions cover some of the most interesting forms 
of men’s and women’s earrings contained in the collection. The speci- 
men from Kaialigamut shown in plate xxv, 12, measures an inch and a 
quarter in length by three-quarters of an inch in width and has its 
outer face divided by an ivory ridge. The excavated spaces are filled 
with a black cement, and set in each subdivision are three small, square 
pieces of lead, making six on each earring. The lower end is beveled 
to a point, and like all of these large earrings has a boss on the pos- 
terior surface near the lower border, which is pierced with a hole for 
fastening the ends of little pendants of beads. In addition, this speci- 
men has a longer string of beads passing beneath the chin to the 
opposite side. The hook for attaching these ornaments to the ear is 
cut from the same piece of ivory and extends back and downward 
nearly to the lower point of the carving. 
Another example from Kaialigamut (plate xxv, 10) is similar in shape 
to the one last described, with the lower end beveled to a point. It is 
two inches in length by an inch and one-eighth wide, and has set in 
