Page:Archæology of the Central Eskimos.djvu/197

It having been proved through the Naujan excavations that in olden times a culture prevailed in these regions which was very dissimilar to that which is now to be found in the Central Eskimo domains, the next question to be answered is: what was the geographical extent of this ancient culture? Wherever we came we enquired of the Eskimos as to the presence of old house ruins and visited as many of these as circumstances permitted. The Eskimos know their country well and such things as house ruins naturally have a very special attraction for them; one old Eskimo at Repulse Bay was able to tell me of thirteen different places between Chesterfield Inlet and Ponds Inlet where there were house ruins. At three places: on Sentry Island, at Chesterfield Inlet and on Vansittart Island, excavations were made. Furthermore, the Eskimos brought us a number of specimens dating from this culture. All this, supplemented by a reference to previous finds of archaeological specimens which presumably originate from the Thule culture in these regions, forms the contents of the following.

Capt. G. Comer, who for many years has hunted whales and made archaeological collections in these regions, writes:^[1] "It is true that on the mainland there are ruins of the same type as those found on the (Southampton) island, which show great age — indeed the natives of the mainland have no knowledge of the remote times in which they were occupied."

T. J. Waterman, who described Comer's collections, writes:^[2] "One type of dwelling prevails over the whole area: a heavy structure of whale skulls and, where obtainable, limestone slabs, the whole plastered over with turf. South of Chesterfield, it is said, no such houses exist, since this Inlet is close to the timber line and the houses seem to have been constructed of sticks or poles. This fact makes the recognition of old sites in the region S. of Chesterfield very difficult . . . . As we pass northward along the western shore