Smyrna times., 1937-01-14
FIND RELICS OF
OLD ALASKA
They Shed Some Light on
Prehistoric Eskimo
Life
ESKIMO THULE CULTURE

Washington, d. c. = Eskimo
armor, worn in ancient battles in
prehistoric Alaska 1000 years ago,
and weapons. tools and household
articles that add greatly to knowl-
edge of life in the Far North before
the dawn of history, have been un-
earthed by joint expedition of the
National Geographic society and
the Smithsonian institution.
Preserved for many centuries in
the perpetually frozen Alaskan soil,
the relics furnish valuable e W
knowledge of two ancient Eskimo
cultures or primitive civilizations
of Alaska, and fill important gaps
in the history of the ancestors Of
the modern Eskimo" says the Ma
tional Geographic society.
Old Eskimo 'sThuIe Culture''
1.-THE remains were excavated
during the past summer under the
leadership of Henry B. Collins, Jr.,
of the Smithsonian. Assisting him
were James A. Ford of Louisiana
State university and Harrison Prin-
die of Washington, d. c.
''The armor which the expedition
uncovered was made of Stats of
bone, similar to the slat armor used
by some Asiatic tribes Other finds
included harpoon and arrow heads,
fish lines of flexible whale bone,
fragments of clothing, cooking uten-
sils, combs, avis, needles, ceremo-
nial masks and even toys carved
in exact imitation of full-sized boats,
animals, etc.
Working at and near Cape Prince
of Wales, westernmost point of the
North American continent, the ex-
pedition excavated mounds of pre-
historic rubbish accumulated over
long periods from villages long
since abandoned. One of the mounds
was eight feet deep, and digging a
slow process because the frozen
ground thawed only few inches
each day.
THE archeologists uncovered the
first site of the old Eskimo Thule
Culture ever found in Alaska. The
Thule Culture was the stage OF
development attained by the Eski-
mos previous to the stage they had
reached when found by the first
white explorers, and is character
lied by certain types of tools, weap-
ons, and art objects.
Links Two Civilizations.
'"The Thule culture spread all
over Arctic North America and
even to Greenland. While it has
been known to exist in those regions
for some time, the new finds con.
firm the important fact that il
spread eastward from Alaska
These proofs were found in a mound
located previously by DR.. Diamond
Jenness of the National Museum OF
Canada, who made the first system
attic excavations in Arctic Alaska.
In the same mound the expedi-
ton found evidence that the Thule
culture was derived from a still
earlier one known as the Birnirk
culture which once fourished in the
region of Point Barrow. In success.
sive layers downward in the mound,
harpoon heads gradually changed
from the Thule style to that of the
Birnirk type. This establishes con.
tinuity between the two cultures
and closes gap that previously
existed between them.
Two miles from this location the
archeologists found another older
mound in which the remains were
entirely of the Birnirk type. This
was the first discovery of site
of the 'Birnirk Culture outside the
Point Barrow region. In other
mounds the expedition found re-
mains of more recent times, and
thus was able to piece together a
complete picture of Eskimo develop
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