Evening star., 1951-11-16
Arctic Explorers Find
AIeuts Are Dying Race
Population in Island Chain
Hos Declined to 1900
By Thomas R. Henry
The Aleuts are a dying race.


The population of this chain Of
islands stretching between Alaska and
Asia has declined from about $4,000 at
about the time of the first Russian
discoveries to approximately 1900, and
the process is continuing.
This is the conclusion reported to the
Arctic Institute of North America after
three summers of scientific exploration
by Drs. w. S. Laughlin and G. H.
Marsh Of the University of Oregon. In
addition to the university and the
institute, the work was sponsored by
the Office of Naval Research, Harvard,
and the Wenner- -Gren Foundation, and
considerable group of scientists par
.ticipated.
A large body of new material has been
collected on the inhabitants of these
fog-buried islands, who have remained
about the least-known people under the
American Flag. The work has led to a
radically new Interpretation of the his
tory of this isolated race which is
making determined but losing fight to
survive under the white mans way Of
life.
Related to the Eskimo.
The Aleuts, DrS. Laughlin and Marsh
report. are definitely closely related to
the Eskimo. They doubtless came into
the islands, perhaps as much as 1000
years ago, from the mainland of Alaska,
where they split off from the main
Eskimo stock, rather than out of Asia.
There was a second migration, still
Eskimo, from Alaska about 1000 years
ago, and the descendants of the two
jv,c cti ho
preSent-day population. This has been
the subject of much dispute in the past.
1t has been held that the people had
no relationship with the Eskimo but
were of somewhat divergent American
Indian origins
In their day Drs Laughlin and Marsh
report, these AleutS must have been a
remarkable people with culture which.
in some respects, reached high levels.
They were, for example, rather expert
anatomists. They had, the report says.
IAN incredibly thorough knowledge OF
human anatomy, much of which still
survives.
Investigation Of the sources of their
knowledge revealed the existence of a
true comparative anatomy and dissec-
ton of the dead. Aleut doctors dis
sected the sea otter because it was
most similar to human beings in NOR
phology and, in fact, is the only sea ami
NAL to preserve a (humanlike) fore
arm, to have fiat grinding molarS, and
several other human SimilaritieS.
Development of Individual.
"In common with other members of
the Eskimo stock, mechanical innova-
tions have played major part in the
remarkable adaptation of the Aleuts
to their environment. This often has
been the result of deliberate compara-
tive experiments. Their culture is di-
rected toward the development OF self
sufficient individuals within the frame
work of highly cooperative group.
Although Aleut is not mutually in
telligible with Eskimo, it's three dialects
are mutually Ineligible among them
selves. Confrmatory evidence of the
westward drive of the Aleuts is seen in
the dialect distribution. The linguistic
evidence corroborates our recent phys
ical, archaeological and chronological re-
search that hhe Aleuts and ESkimos are
members of the same stock
Their history is that of two success
sive Mongoloid peoples pushing into the
islands from the Alaskan mainland,
bringing with them all the traits and
implements Of an extensive open sea
economy. The first wave must have
started over 1000 years ago, while tis
second was we'll within the last 1000
years and was continuing at the time
of the Russian discovery"
The great numbers Of Aleuts and
other Eskimos in Southwestern Alaska
may have risen through population
explosion" the anthropologists believe.
A conservative estimate of the pre-
Russian population, they say, places
their number at 10000 an estimate well
supported by the quantity and size of
old village sites.
Since the appearance of Europeans
the basis of the economy has been Sc
riously affected through the slaughter
of sea mammals, reductions in num-
bers of fish, and grazing off of the
vegetation. In addition diseases, to-
gether with the early massacres, re-
duced the population. The decline in
population is unfortunately continuing"