Page:Archæology of the Central Eskimos.djvu/458

These slate objects can be arranged into comparatively few types. Pl. 77.6 is a fairly large, two-edged, unground, slender blade with tang, presumably for a knife; six other specimens, between 7 to 11 cm long, likewise unground, resemble this. 5 is a fairly large arrow head with concave base, also of unground slate; 4 other specimens, all partly defective, with lengths up to 8 cm, resemble it; they are all unground, and three of them are exceedingly well made, with thin, keen edge and concave base. 3 belongs to the familiar triangular, facet-ground type of harpoon blade without rivet hole, while two specimens are flat whetting stones. 9 is a ground ulo blade; the notches at the top might indicate that it has had a winding round the handle like those from Ponds Inlet (Pl. 50.8–9); an unground, unfinished ulo has quite a similar handle. 7 is a large, handsome scraper of ground slate with bent handle; not only the edge but also most of the convex side is ground sharp, whereby it was possible to use it as a sort of knife too. The other slate blades are fragments, principally belonging to the foregoing types; there are also two broken, fairly broad and pointed blades of flint and quartz.

The bone objects appear to be of very different ages. Nine may at once be picked out as being quite new: a comb, a needle case like Turner fig. 72 but still straighter in profile, two buttons for a woman's carrying strap as used to this day, and some carvings in ivory. The remaining 23 bone objects which, from their appearance, are older, also seem to be of different ages. Some of them, however, undoubtedly belong to the Thule culture: the harpoon head Pl. 77.2, a very decayed specimen of ivory of Thule type 3; an unfinished harpoon head of Thule type 2, of antler, 11.6 cm long, with spur and barbs indicated; the harpoon head 3, of antler, very flat and very decayed, is known from Qilalukan and belongs to the youngest types of the Thule culture; a harpoon head of the round-flat form Naujan type 5, of ivory, 7.3 cm long; a heavy socket piece for a harpoon shaft like Naujan Pl. 3.10, but thicker, of antler, 14.6 cm long. Finally, the needle case fig. 98, an unusually large and handsome specimen of the "winged" type, of ivory, oval in section and with a cylindrical cavity. The ornamentation has features that are well known from the other Thule finds: the Y-figure, the double line with hatched fields and the line with alternating cross-lines; on the other hand the triangles are not known from these, and the strongly marked longitudinal ridge seems to be characteristic of Labrador needle cases^[1] but is not known elsewhere. Judging from its appearance this fine needle case is fairly old.