holmes! aboriginal AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES PART I 121 



shores of the continent somewhat indefinitely into the interior. 

 Along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts the peculiar arctic culture 

 shades off into the cultures of the south. Where not subject to the 

 direct influence of other races, it is essentially Eskimoan in its 

 prehistoric as well as in its historic phases, and the uniformity of 

 the frigid environment and of the racial elements involved has 

 resulted in marked uniformity of achievement throughout the area. 

 Indeed, so all-impelling are boreal conditions that it would seem 

 strange, since Bering Strait does not interfere with free intercourse 

 between the east and the west, did this uniformity not extend prac- 

 tically the entire length of the Arctic Circle. The 

 Mer" ""'' ^'■■''^''"* cidture of the past merges into that of the present 

 and archeological researches may be expected in 

 time to contribute much of interest to the culture history of 

 the area, at least of the more recent past. There is no doubt that 

 marked changes have taken place in the arts and manner of life 

 of such of the peoples as have come in close contact with the 

 whites, but we may feel assured that their ingenuity and their excep- 

 tional dexterity in many directions are indigenous traits, developed 

 largely as a result of long struggles with the exacting environment. 

 In these inhospitable regions shelter during the inclement seasons 

 is an ever-existing necessity, but home building had its severe limita- 

 tions. Houses were built of driftwood, whalebones, stone, earth, 

 sod, and snow, and the sunken floors aided in making existence dur- 

 ing the long winters bearable. Explorers find traces of these long- 

 deserted structures and of storehouses and cairns scattered along 

 thousands of miles of the frozen coast. 



Fire for warmth and for cooking is a first consideration to dwellers 

 in the arctic, and since oils and fats were the main dependence for 

 fuel, the lamp filled an important place in every household. This 

 useful utensil was made usually of soapstone. It is a remarkable 

 fact that the lamp is unknown in any other part of America, while 

 several forms are found in arctic Asia. 



Hunting and fishing are and were always necessarily the almost 

 exclusive means of subsistence of the people, and 

 Skill iu tho Arts wcapous and other devices for capturing game are 

 among the most ingenious of their kind. In the west 

 tough jades, the rare pectolites, and other hard varieties of stone were 

 employed in making mortars, pestles, dishes, vessels or receptacles, 

 hammers, adzes, chisels, picks, knives, whetstones, sinkers, tobacco 

 pipes, and other implements and utensils. Hard and brittle stones, 

 as flint and slate, were w^rought and skillfully shaped by fracture 

 processes into knives, scrapers, drills, and projectile points, and 

 the art is by no means a lost one at the present day. It is a note- 



