Ethnographical collections from East Greenland. 353 



Sound ^), by G. Ryder ^) in Scoresby Sound itself and by the Dan- 

 mark Expedition in tlie northern regions-'). 



Whilst Ryder only found houses of the small type — the largest 

 he measured had an interior area of 38 by 27 m., the smallest of 

 2"5 by Г6 m. — and as a rule grouped in small villages (altogether 

 50 houses divided over 7 settlements), Amdrup discovered both small 

 and large houses ("long-houses"), sometimes single, sometimes in small 

 groups. Two different principles of building seem thus to overlap 

 in central East Greenland. It is characteristic of the present building 

 method of the Ammassalikers, that they only build one house at each 

 place and that it is occupied as a rule by several families, sometimes 

 of 8 or 10. The northernmost house of undoubted Ammassalik origin, 

 found as a ruin by Amdrup, is at Nordre-Aputitek (67^ 48' N. lat.)^). 

 Amdrup ascertained, that it was not more than a generation old, 

 having been built and occupied by one still living at Ammassalik 

 (see p. 345). Onl}^ a few miles further south Amdrup found a 

 second house of the Ammassalik "long- house" type, at Nualik 

 (67° 15' N. lat.). This was the tragically famous "dead house", in 

 which all the inhabitants were found dead from famine or poisoning 

 (see p. 344). Some of the implements found were recognized by the 

 Ammassalikers as belonging to certain persons. This house had an 

 area of 81 by 65 m.^). The largest "long-house" was found a little 

 more to the south, at Gape Warming (67'' N. lat.); it was 11 by 10 m. 

 The following are the smallest houses Amdrup measured in the 

 Ammassalik district ''): 



The House at Lilleø (66° 57' N.lat.): 19 by 2-2 m. 

 House no. 4 at Nordfjord (66° 18' N.lat.): 1-9 by 1-6 m. 

 House no. 6 at Storø (66° 15' N.lat): 28 by 22 m. 



These houses are inferior in size to the smallest house which 

 I have measured, the house at Iserpalakittoq in Sermilik Fjord: 

 49 by 43 m., with three families, 4 family compartments, 15 people 

 in all. In the smallest houses of the northern type there could only 

 have lived one or at most two families in each and no doubt the 

 same is true of the smallest houses measured by Amdrup in the 



1) G. Amdrup, "Meddelelser om Grønland" XXVIII (1909) pp. 302—313, figs. 1-4. 



2) С. Ryder, "Medd. om Grønland" XVII (1895) p. 297, figs. 1—2. 

 ä) С. Bendix Thostrup, "Medd. om Grønland" XLIV (1911), passim. 



*) Amdrup: "The former Eskimo settlements on the East coast of Greenland" in 

 "Medd. om Grønland" XXVIII p. 311. This settlement is mentioned by G. Holm 

 in his "Beretning om Konebaads-Expeditionen", "Medd. om Grønland" IX (1889) 

 p. 222. 



^) Amdrup (1909) p. 304. Illustrations of the "dead house" at Nualik pp. 302 -307. 



6) Id. ibid. pp. 299—301, cf. 319—320. 



XXXIX. 23 



