614 



W. Thalbitzer 



Fig. 343. 



teads of bone. 



(Holm coll.). 



Чз. 



ing to the time of the year and the different ages; we meet with a 

 display of individual vanity as well as a blasé contempt for any 

 outward adornment. 



Before Europeans introduced glass-beads into the 

 country, which very early reached up to Ammassalik 

 along the coast by exchange and barter ^), the people 

 here used either the small dorsal vertebrae of cap- 

 lins (ammassät) or larger vertebrae of other fishes 

 (salmon) or animals, or small balls and cylinders cut 

 from the teeth of seal or bear or the tarsi of foxes, seals 

 etc. or made of various stones ^). Both kinds of dorsal 

 vertebrae are seen here in figs. 324 and 325 a; the 

 smaller ones of caplins are seen in the hanging bead- 

 strings, the larger as a row of dark cross-pieces be- 

 tween the parallel, narrow skin-bands. White, round 

 beads carved in varying shapes from bone or teeth are seen strung 

 on whip-lashes (fig. 74), on the end-pieces of hafts of knives (figs. 

 182-184,187), on the handles of drinking-cups (fig. 281a, 

 beads of fox-bone, cf. p. 551) and meat-troughs (figs. 

 286 e, /г), on the carrying string of a needle skin (fig. 249b), 

 on the looped strings of ornamented eye-shades (fig. 317), 

 in both ends of the snow-goggles (fig. 323), on the dresses 

 and as pendants of hair-bands, necklaces, ear-drops (figs. 

 324—330) etc. being partly useful (cf. the bead-like decoys 

 on the stone sinkers for fishing (fig. 173) and on floating 

 snares for birds (fig. 178)), partly ornamental. On the 

 wooden box in fig. 289 c we see four bead-studded strings 

 one on each corner of 

 the bottom as pendent 

 ornaments. The lid of 

 this box is provided 

 with a lock in the form 

 of a string of beads with 



Fig. 344 



Two strings of beads, a the lock for a 

 case, Ъ pendant of a necklace. (Holm coll.). Чз. 



') As evidence of the favour which these foreign beads ("Dutch beads" of dim or 

 clear glass, white, red, yellow, blue in colour) quickly obtained at Ammassalik 

 may be mentioned the names given them by the луотеп there : sikkulaarqat, 

 small globular beads; suluarpalaat, small cylindrical beads; kittukkiit, thicker 

 beads; aijilertät the tliickest beads; qiwnneetät, spiral etc. These names prob- 

 ably originate from primitive bone beads of the same shapes. 



2) Hanserak (Diary, Danish translation, pp. 68 — 69) states that in olden da3's the 

 East Greenlanders got the material for their beads from a special kind of stone 

 found near Qoojootilik north of Sermiligaq. The pieces that were broken off 

 resembled "frozen (leaves of) leeks and looked very beautiful as ornaments for 

 the head and temples." 



