Page:Archæology of the Central Eskimos.djvu/193

two stone erections in the form of a kayak, 2½–3 metres long, as well as three or four pairs of kayak rests, some of them overturned.

Appearances at this place and at Cape Welcome clearly show that we have to consider two kinds of tent rings, viz. old, strongly constructed, round and oval, and more recent, less strongly built, round. The same features as at these two places are found everywhere: the strong heavy tent rings are never on the lowest-lying gravel flats (less than about 5 metres above s. l.), where the more lightly built tent rings are principally to be found, presumably because the gravel flats were under water when the strong tent rings were formed. It is thus natural to connect the strong tent rings with the culture period represented by the Naujan find; this agrees very well with conditions elsewhere too.

The distribution of these two kinds of ruins over the stretch of coast which has been mapped will be seen from the map; there remain only one or two places where a little more detail might be given regarding the local features. On Tent Island just south of the trading station, on the low gravel flats, there are some lightly built tent rings and a similar place of festivity to that on Cape Welcome, an oblong stone erection, 5 × 6 metres, built of heavy stones, one corner being as high as 1½ metres; in the centre a large stone. On Tower-Trap Island, at the highest point, 15 metres above s. l., are 4 strongly built tent rings and 4 tower-traps, shaped like a beehive, built of stone, about 3 metres in diameter at the base, 1½–2 metres high; only one of them apparently undamaged, with a hole in the top, one metre across, and a small door, half a metre square, at the base; these tower-traps seem to be contemporary with the heavy tent rings and thus belong to the same culture period.

Conditions at Aivilik are particularly interesting and therefore I purpose going into them more fully. While at Repulse Bay I always asked the Aivilik Eskimos there whether there were other ruins of winter houses in the vicinity; thus I learned of a number of places where these were to be found; none of them ever told me, however, that there were winter houses near their own ancient main settlement, Aivilik. It was quite by chance that I learned of them; Jacob Olsen and I had several times, both winter and summer, been at Aivilik without noticing any winter houses there. During our sojourn at Naujan we were visited in the evening of August 11th by a Netsilik Eskimo who had pitched his tent at Aivilik. During the course of our conversation he said that while on a hunting trip in the neighbourhood he had seen ruins of permanent winter houses;