REVIEWS 145 fitted with a wooden leg aboard Captain cently migrated from the Barren Lands John Ross’s Victory in 1830. to the coast and who displaced the old In his laconic conclusions Vanstone Thule population as a result. The mi- shows an alert sense of problem. Com- grationconcept has been badly over- paring the 53 Netsilik artifact types of worked in traditional Eskimology as a the Learmonthcollection with Thule review of the older and current litera- culture forms, he finds 36 to have c10.w ture reveals. Although a sturdy, eager relationship with Thule prototypes and dog, the migration idea could not pull three others to be derived from them. the full sled load of Eskimo prehistory; This leads tothe highly significant con- those other conceptual brutes,diffusion, clusion that “. . . it does not seem to be cultural continuity,regional variation, an overstatement to say that Netsilik etc., have only recently begun to haul Eskimo implement culture is alogical their fair share. Therefore Vanstone’s development from the earlier ancestral study bears general significancein con- period.”, that is, from Thule culture.Al- tributing to and reflecting this change though this disagrees with Mathiassen’s in the natureof interpretations of arctic original view on the matter, VanStone archaeology. showsa commendable appreciation of It is remarkable that these new per- Mathiassen’s reasoning and agrees with tinentdata and their interpretations, him that Thule culture stands as a dis- the stimulating hypothesis they engen- tinct entity. der, and the general implications of a Perhaps VanStone has understated shifting use of concepts in Eskimo pre- the case for Thule-Netsilik continuity. history require only 63 pages. For all First, more than three of his 17 “dis- that and a pleasing formof presentation tinctively Netsilik” types appear to my arctic archaeology is happily indebted eye as developments from Thule pro- to Mr. Learmonth, Dr. Vanstone, and totypesand second, in restrictinghis the Royal Ontario Museum. comparisonto artifact types from the WILLIAME. TAYLOR,JR.” Learmonth collection VanStonehas not outlinedsimilarities between the two The authors have presented us with in languages, economy, housing forms, a painstaking morphologicaland metri- and other aspects of culture. The second cal analysis of 13 skulls and 3 partial paper in the publication treats of the post-cranialskeletons. Six of these racialsimilarities. Reasons for the skulls belong to the Thule culture that, Thule-Netsilik shift are understandably whenadded to those of Naujan (19), notdiscussed; little additionalinfor- ArcticBay (l), andBattle Rock (2), mation or thoughthave been offered bring the Thule census up to 28, which on the Thule-modern Central Eskimo isnot very large compared with the transitionin the past 30 years.As sample sizes of Ipiutak and Birnirk. Vanstone’s closing sentences note, this The conclusionsare thatall the skele- newer view of Thule-Netsilik continu- tonsshow a high degree of homoge- ity demands a reanalysis of the larger neity, exhibitingsuch typical Eskimo problem of Thule-modern Central Es- cranio-facial features aslong, high cra- kimo relationship for it strongly hints nia,flat faces, prominent zygomatic that the Canadian Central Eskimos are arches, and pinched nasal bones. the direct cultural and biological des- L.OSCHINSKY” cendants of the Thulepeople. A few rash students,including the reviewer, ESKIMO CHILDHOOD AND INTER- hold that as a belief, lacking the data PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS. Nuni- and study to call it more. wakBiographies and Genealogies. By Turning the coin, this study also chal- MARGARETLANTIS. The American Eth- lenges the Eschato-Eskimohypothesis nologicalSociety. Seattle: University in which the modern Central Eskimos, including the Netsilik, are construed as *Human History Branch being descended from people who re- National Museum of Canada 146 REVIEWS of WashingtonPress. 1960. x 8% valuable in establishing the context of inches, xiv + 215 pages, 1 map, 7 figures. the recording session and documenting $4.75. the reactions of all participants.They The eighteen life histories that form do not, except occasionally, attempt to the basis of this interesting book were elucidate ethnographic references. The collected by Dr. Margaret Lantis dur- names of all informants andinterpreters ingtwo field tripsto NunivakIsland recur againand again inthe various in southwesternAlaska in 1946 and lifehistories, which emphasizes the 1956. The author indicates thather complexweb of socialrelations on interest in obtainingpersonal docu- Nunivak. ments stemmed from a desire to provide A chapter entitled “Ten YearsLater” materialsfor the study of culture in contains data collected during the win- operation,particularly with regard to ter of 1955-6 that summarize the lives socialorganization. Extensive ethno- of the author’sinformants up to that graphic studies by Dr. Lantis on Nuni- time. Here an attempt is made to fol- vak in 1939-40 provideddetaileda low through on a numberof personality background against which to interpret characteristics indicated in the original personalitydata and the author also life histories. In the concluding chapter felt that some of the data collected at Dr.Lantis attempts to summarize the that timecould be more adequately dataon personality that emergefrom tested. However, at some pointshe must the personaldocuments and to derive have decided that a detailed compara- some generalizations about the nature tive treatment of the ethnographic and of NunivakEskimo personality and personality data should be reserved for culture. In this connection, one point in anotherpublication. In this book the particular strikes this reviewer as being life history materialis presented simply of considerable interest. The author to “show the personal aspects of those states that “theold culture appears less customs that anthropologistsusually heroic when one sees it in actual cases describe so impersonally, e.g., marriage, rather than in generalization” (p. 170). adoption, the making of a hunter, and This statement emphasizesthe real val- the child’sinstruction in religionand ue of personal documents for research. social relationships” (p.vi). By present- It is true onlybecause cultural gen- ing the materialin this manner the eralizationsbecome meaningful, and author hopes that the reader will “see therefore prosaic, when the individual not ‘the NunivakEskimos’, but indi- isseen moving within the framework viduals”(p. vi). of his culture and fulfilling its require- In the introductory chapter the au- ments tothe best of hisability. To thor briefly and concisely sketches the counter this loss of the heroic quality, circumstancesunder which the bio- the author remindsus that through graphicalmaterial was collected, em- personal documents we see more clearly phasizing the relations between herself the mannerin which individualism is and her informants and interpreters. maintained in spite of the necessity of Thebulk of the bookconsists of the conforming to the demands of the com- life stories of twelve men and six wom- munity and of accepting the vicissitudes en recorded in 1946. Generallyeach of fate. story is preceded by a brief introduction At the end of the book are two ap- that sets the stage for the account by pendixes, which contain the results of outlining the familybackground and Rorschach tests anddetailed geneal- indicating a few personality character- ogies. The latter are useful not only to istics of the informant.Most of the show the variation in family structure stories have numbered paragraphs and on the island, but to help make clear the notes at the end are keyed to these the references to various individuals in numbers.Occasionally thereare also the life histories. additional comments bythe author. The The reader who does not have some notesand comments are particularly background knowledge of Eskimo cul- REVIEWS 147

ture is going to experience difficulty in personality in anon-Western society, using this book. However, there is an Dr. Lantis has been very successful in ample literature onwestern Alaskan helping us to see the Nunivak Eskimos I Eskimo culture and the reader who as individuals. This reviewer considers 1 takes the troubleto prepare himself her bookto be amajor contribution will find that this important contribu- toward our knowledge of Alaskan Es- tionbuilds on the author'sextensive kimo personality. Having once spent a I earlier field work in this region. In ad- summeron Nunivak Island, he found dition to providing important and val- the book all the more enjoyable. uable raw materialfor the study of JAMESW. VANSTONE

Obituary

Carl R. Eklund (1909-1962) Dr. Carl Robert Eklund, posthumous Fellow of the Arctic Institute of North I America,prominent in arctic and antarcticresearch, Chief of the Polar and Arctic Branch of the US. Army Research Office, died on November 3, 1962 at the age of 53. His gregarious friendly nature, good humour and knack of story-telling made hima cherished friend of all whoknew him. For 23 yearshe was a leading Americanspecialist in ornithologyand geographic research in both the north and south polar regions. His U.S. Government service in the Department of the Interior and the Department of the Army was approaching 29 years. Carl was born in Tomahawk, Wisconsin onJanuary 27, 1909. After completing hissecondary schooling at TomahawkHigh School in 1927, he attended the University of Wisconsin for a year before transferring to Carlton College where he received his B.A. degree in1932, majoring in biology and minoringin education. For the next 3 years he served as a forestry foreman in the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. As a graduate fellow of the Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, Oregon State College, he receivedhis M.S. degree in 1938, specializing in fish and wildlife management, botany, and animal husbandry. From Corvallis, Oregon he returned to government service as a junior biologist at Seney National Wildlife Refuge in Michigan. With solid training and experience he answered the lure of the polar regions. From 1939-41 he served as ornithologist at the East Base of the U.S. Antarctic Service.This was the firstmodern US. Government-sponsoredexpedition to Antarctica, and the third of Rear Admiral Richard E. Bird's Antarctic commands. In addition to his collection of animal life for the Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service,Carl made oneof the longest antarctic dog sled journeys accompanying Finn Ronnein a landward encirclement of Alexander I Island from the Palmer Peninsula Station on Stonington Island. Islands sighted near the turning point of this journey were named the Eklund Islands in his honour bythe Board of Geographical Names.