Alaska -- Antiquities; Eskimos; Eskimos -- Anthropometry; Indians of North America -- Alaska; Indians of North America -- Yukon
During 1925-26 there lived at Point Hope a very active and interesting
man, sent there by the Fox Film Co. to photograph the Eskimo--Mr.
Merle La Voy. La Voy, whom I met at Point Hope and who for a time
became our fellow-passenger on the _Bear_, had not only succeeded
remarkably in his own line, but had also amassed during his stay a
large archeological collection. He did not excavate himself, and
unfortunately paid no attention to the scientific side of the case; but
by offering the natives sugar, tea, chocolate, chewing gum, tobacco,
etc. in exchange for specimens, he so stimulated them that they engaged
most assiduously in the excavation, or rather picking over as they
thawed, of their old ruins, and brought him thousands of objects, some
of which are of considerable interest. At the time of my visit there
were several barrels full of specimens, largely of stone and ivory.
Skulls and bones, regrettably, were neglected and reburied in the
débris. Later this collection was transported to San Francisco, where
it remains at the date of this writing, in Mr. La Voy's possession.
At Kotzebue Mr. Tom Berryman, the trader, has made some collections of
Eskimo archeological material, from which I benefited for the National
Museum; and the local teacher, Mr. C. S. Replogle, informed me that he
had a large collection at his home in the States.
At Nome I found a valuable lot of specimens in fossil ivory, pottery,
and stone, in the possession of the well-known Lomen brothers, members
of one of the foremost families in Alaska. The best parts of this
collection I was fortunate to secure for exhibit in the United States
National Museum.
A large and valuable collection of western Eskimo archeological
material was made some years ago by Dr. Daniel Neuman. A part of this
collection is in the museum at Juneau; the whereabouts of the rest and
of Doctor Neuman himself I was unable to discover. There are several
collections of archeological material from the western Eskimo region at
Seattle and San Francisco, but none represents scientific excavation.
The names of Joe Bernard, Prof. H. N. Sverdrup, and O. W. Geist should
be mentioned in this connection, all having collected archeological
objects in the western Eskimo region. Many specimens of value
collected by these men and others are in various museums or in private
hands in Fairbanks, along the west coast or in Europe.
My own small part in the archeology of Bering Sea and the northwestern
coast of Alaska was, as already stated, mainly that of making a survey
of conditions. The object was to obtain a good general view of what
there was in the line of archeological sites and remains, and thus
help to lay a foundation for more organized research in the future. In
addition all possible effort was made to collect and obtain specimens
of distinct archeological value. Both of these endeavors met with
results of some importance.
FOOTNOTES:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account