When primitive man is given a pencil and paper and asked to draw an object in nature, he has to use tools unfamiliar to him, and a technique that he has never tried. He must break away from his ordinary methods of work and solve a new problem. The result cannot be a work of art,—except perhaps under very unusual circumstances. Just like the child, the would-be artist is confronted with a task for which he lacks technical preparation, and many of the difficulties that beset the child beset him also. Hence the apparent similarity between children’s drawings and those of primitive man. The attempt of both are made in similar situations. A most characteristic case of this kind was told to me by Mr. Birket-Smith. He asked an Eskimo of Iglulik to draw with a pencil on a piece of paper a walrus hunt. The native was unable to accomplish this task and after several attempts he took a walrus tusk and carved the whole scene in ivory, a technique with which he was familiar. [Illustration: Fig. 59 _b_. Embroidery, Huichol Indians, Mexico.] [Illustration: Fig. 60. Decorated fishskin garment, Amur River.] The contrast between representation for the sake of representation and representation as a work of art appears clearly in many cases. I select a few examples. The Indians of the mountains of northwestern Mexico wear beautifully embroidered or woven clothing, the designs of which are largely based on Spanish motives. Heraldic patterns and isolated animal figures combined with geometrical forms are the constituent elements (fig. 59 _a_). Besides these embroidered and woven fabrics, which are of excellent workmanship, we find small embroidered rags (fig. 59 _b_), which are attached to arrows and serve the purpose of representing a prayer to a deity. A roughly outlined figure of a child expresses a prayer for the health of the child; that of a deer, a prayer for success in hunting. The arrows with the attached rags are stuck into the thatched roof of a temple where they are allowed to decay. They are not intended as works of art but only as representations that serve a temporary purpose; hence the disregard of form and of exactness of workmanship. [Illustration: PLATE VI. Shaman’s Dress, Amur River.] Quite similar observations may be made on the clothing of the Amur tribes. The skin clothing worn by the people, particularly on festive occasions, is beautifully ornamented in appliqué, or by painting. The ornaments are in part geometrical, in part representative. Figures of birds and fish abound (fig. 60). On the other hand the painted dresses of shamans are roughly executed (Plate VI). They represent mythological concepts and have a value solely on account of their meaning. The interest does not center in the form. As compared to wearing apparel they are crudely done, for the beauty of execution is of minor importance.