Ethnographical collections from East Greenland. 679 



on the descendants'-). It is a task still left unsolved to prove the influence of 

 the Icelandic culture on the Eskimo culture in Greenland at the time when the 

 latter became merged in the former (cf. pp. 698 and 702). 



To pp. 507-511. 



Women's knives and scrapers. — Since I wrote my description of the 

 figs. 223 — 229, I have received M. Porsild's paper (in Zeitschrift f. Ethnologie) 

 on various Eskimo implements, also ulos. Both this interesting work and Steens- 

 by's description of the ulos used by the Smith Sound Eskimo try to clear up 

 the question of the various kinds of these instruments and their use in recent 

 times. But it is still a question, whether we are in this way able to learn more 

 about the development of these instruments in the early history of the Eskimo. 

 0. Solberg was the first to consider these questions^). He asks, why it is that 

 the stone ulo (stone-blade of the well-known ulo shape) is wanting among the 

 implements of the oldest North-west Greenlanders, in spite of the large number 

 of stone artifacts that are present from this district. From East Greenland, 

 where by -comparison the finds are extremely scarce, the number of stone ulos 

 is not so small, several of which found on the northern part of the east coast^) 

 are of a triangular shape with crescentic edge, agreeing perfectly with the stone- 

 ulos from Southampton Island in Hudson Bay*). 



This difference in the abundance and form of ulos on the two opposite 

 coasts shows already the incorrectness of Porsild's statement, that no ulo-types 

 of regional importance are to be found in Eskimo regions. His own figures also 

 speak against his theory; hafts of the shapes seen in figs. 12 and 18 (p. 614) are 

 not known from Greenland, figs. 4 — 6 (East Greenland) are unknown outside 

 Greenland. Further, his assertion, that the latter shape (transitional type), 

 with two arms reaching from the upper grip down to the blade, has been made 

 with a view to the flexibility of the iron-blade, is improbable and in opposition 

 to the fact, that north of the Ammassalik district Amdrup found an ulo with 

 stone-blade exactly of this type^^). 



In his description of these implements Porsild's classification is too narrow 

 and dogmatic. Apart from the fact, that we miss from his description of the 

 forms a reference to the difference between ulos with curved and with straight 

 cutting edge (his figures however indicate both shapes), for his intention seems 

 only to expound the developmental types of the cutting ulos, not of the scrapers, 



1) The idea of the Icelanders' adapting themselves to the Eskimo life is not new, 

 see e. g. Arne Magnussen's words in Grønl. histor. Mindesmærker III, p. 138: "or 

 they have been obliged to use the same vitæ genus as the savages and have 

 thus degenerated to become like these". Rink has carried this thought still 

 further (in "Greenland" vol. III. 1857, pp. 55—57), also G. Holm (1883, pp. 158— 

 159, see in this book p. 342, and F. Nansen (1891) p. 8, and it has later been 

 worked out in detail by Nansen (1911) pp. 363—366 and Bjørnbo (1912) p. 13. 



2) Solberg (1907) pp. 51—55, 63, 79 etc.; Steensby (1910) p. 337; Porsild (1912) 

 pp. 613 — 618; nor has Mason's older work to be forgotten. 



^) Cf. my remarks in connection with Amdrup's discovery of an ulo with a stone 

 blade and a wooden haft of another ulo (1909 pp. 378—380, fig. 13, no. 23 in 

 my inventory, and pp. 459—461, fig. 49, inv. no. 80). 



*) Boas (1907) fig. 231, p, 430. 



'"■) Amdrup inv. No. 45. Cf. my description (1909) pp. 401—405 fig. 21. I may also 

 refer to the two-armed bone-handle of a woman's knife (Pfaff coll.) from West 

 Greenland illustrated 1. с p. 521, fig. 94 (cf. p. 525). This is made of reindeer 

 horn all in one piece and has probably been provided originally with a stone- 

 blade of the usual ulo form (1. с p. 405). 



