60 REVIEWS on his successful useof the lighter-than- The dust-cover of this volume claims air dirigible. Sir George Nares did not that, among other neglected men, “jus- himselfplant the Britishflag above tice is done to a remarkable group of 83’N., as Mr. Langnas says; this was Jewishexplorers. . . .” Everyone is doneby a member of his expedition, pleased to see justice done, but in such AlbertMarkham, on a sledge trip. It a short dictionary it is questionable appearsfrom the dates givenfor the whether to mention many minor figures Sovietexplorers Sergei and Vladimir of Jewish extraction is a better justice Obruchev, that Vladimir was born two than to omit several important explorers years later than his son - a “first” that about whom the reader mightexpect even the Russians are unlikely to claim. information. Nor is the reader greatly In the sketch of Peary we read “a jour- edified to learn of Sven Hedin, a Swed- ney of the Roosevelt,1905-6, brought ish explorer, that in his retirement him to 87’6’N.” This triumph of naviga- “He became a strong supporterof tion, if true, would have been a more the Nazis, who paid him the com- remarkable feat than the attainment of pliment of ignoringhis quarter- the pole on foot; actually the ship win- Jewishorigin. In the middle of tered at Cape Sheridan (82’28’N.). In World War 11, while Hitler was ex- reading about Sir Hubert Wilkins one terminatinghis fellow-Jews, he gathers that the Canadian Arctic Ex- travelled to Munich to receive an pedition lasted only from 1913 to 1914, honorarydoctorate.” rather than for four years longer. Many errors in the book could have The biography of Vilhjalmur Stefans- beenavoided by more careful proof- son (both of whose names, it is pleasing reading, but there remain some impor- to note, are spelled correctly) is espe- tant mistakes in fact.As it exists the ciallyconfused. Stefansson’s third ex- book is too sketchy and too unreliableto pedition, as stated, did indeed reach“the be more than casually useful. Webster’s northernmostpoint of Prince Patrick BiographicalDictionary would be a Island”, but Stefansson also discovered better investment. three important islands beyond Prince Patrick Island on a journeythe to north- ALAN COOKE east of about 300 miles. Following this Stefansson Collection we read that “his shipdrifted for 11 months until he was rescuedat Wrangel Island”.Stefansson’s ship, the Karluk, THE NEOLITHIC AGE IN had foundered in the ice near Wrangel EASTERN SIBERIA Island near the beginning of the expe- By HENRYN. MICHAEL. Philadelphia: dition. Some men were rescued there, AmericanPhilosophical Society. but Stefanssonwas not amongthem, Transactions of the AmericanPhil- being otherwise occupied. We read fur- osophical Society, New Series,Vol. 48, therthat “in 1921 expeditionsunder Part 2, 1958; 11% x 9% inches; 108 hiscommand explored Alaska and pages, 7 maps, 100 text figures; paper. northeastern Siberia”. The Wrangel $2.50. Island expeditionhad nothing to do with exploration of Alaska. Its object was to This excellent monograph surveys all claimfor the Britishcrown an island importantSoviet archaeological re- that was unoccupied and that was not search on the Neolithtic period of east- then activelyclaimed by the Soviet ern Siberia to about the year 1950. Its Union. That “Stefanssonnow lives in geographicalscope is confinedto the New York City, where he has founded official administrative territory of the Stefansson Library”, will come as a “Eastern Siberia”. This includesthe re- suprise to many of us who had believed gion east of the Yenisey River as far as that this residencewas terminated a the watershed between the Pacific and decade ago and that his books now form Arctic oceans, and from the Mongolian aspecial collection of the Dartmouth Republic north to the arctic coast. Hence College Library. it is not concernedwith the Pacific REVIEWS 61 littoral region that comprises the Soviet 1954, somefour years in advance of Far East. It is a work that will have en- publication.Aside from several refer- during value for American scholars who ences to recent articles in Soviet jour- are interested not only in that specific nals, as well as pertinent reports of region but also in the general problem late date in American journals, it deals of New World cultural origins, and most with Soviet materials that are prior to particularlyfor those who are unable the 1950’s. Since that time therehas to study the original reports in Russian. been a shift in certain key opinionsand The book begins with a clear state- D. B.Shimkin, in arecent technical ment of aims and limitations and then review of Michael(Am. Antiquity 24: proceeds to a discussion of the various 436-7, 1959), has listed the Soviet classificationsystems that havebeen works of later date that shouldbe used inthe pastto order theculture consulted by the specialist who wishes sequence in the Lake Baikal area. Next supplementto Michael with more the cultural-stratigraphic analysis of the moderninformation. Forexample, Angara River burials is carefully traced whereas Okladnikov once asserted that out, for this is fundamentalfor the the Palaeolithic Age in Eastern Siberia Soviet chronology of the Siberian Neo- was an entirelyautochthonous devel- lithic andBronze ages. The following opment,since the time of Michael’s chapters elaborate the significant char- publication he hasadmitted that its acteristics of these burials and further earlystages were of Europeanorigin. treat problems of correlation and chro- These initial eventsoccurred inthe nology. For additionalrefinement a Lake Baikal area and thence there was separate chapter is devoted to an ana- a steady diffusion northward down the lysis of each of the major cultural peri- valley of the Lena. In fact, the Rus- ods,i.e., Khina,Isakovo, Serovo, and sians stress that all early movements Kitoi, and finallythere are area summa- of maninto the Eurasian axtic zone tions of the archaeological sequences in tookplace in ameridional direction the middle Lena River valley,the lower irom various southern centres of origin. Lena,and the arctic coast.With the In this connection Michael lays some exception of the arctic coast regionthere stress on the arctic zone of Eastern are adequate maps showingthe location Siberiaas the sourcefrom where the of all sites reviewed, the text profuselyis Palaeo-Eskimos of the Bering Strait illustrated with reproductionsof artifact region derived many of their significant drawings that originallyappeared in culture traits. Tosome extent this various Soviet publications, and several energizes the moribundconcept of an helpful summary tables are included. ancientcircumpolar culture complex, In essence Michael’s translation and but the problem of the origin of Eskimo distillation derive from the work of one culture certainlycannot be discussed man, A. P. Okladnikov. This is no cause satisfactorilywithout reference to the for alarm, however, because OkladnikovSoviet Far East and the Bering Strait onaccount of hisextensive record is coastalareas. Russian evidence does probably the mostenergetic archae- indeedpoint to circumpolar connec- ologist in his country today and he is tionsbetween Europe and western alsoa scholar who works with skill, Siberia,and between Eastern Siberia painstaking method and reasonable de- andBering Strait,but so far as is tachment whenit comes to the interpre- knownnow these concerned tundra tation of hisdata. Nevertheless, some cultures and appear to have been rela- balance of opinion is achieved through tively late in time.Moreover, west of Michael’s considerationof Soviet opera- Bering Strait along the arctic coast the tions in areas thatare peripheralto direction of the diffusion of Eskimo Eastern Siberia. culture is not definitely known. As for Theone serious drawback of the the earlycomponents of Eskimocul- monograph is no fault of the author’s, ture, the Russiansbelieve, as Michael forhis main work was completed in notes, thatthe roots of sea-mammal 62 REVIEWS

economy are to be found well south of Probablynot until then will the real the arctic zone,along the littoral of potential of the prehistory of Eastern eastern Asia. Siberiabe appreciated. In the mean- IncreasedSoviet work inthe Far time Michael has served his colleagues East will ultimately serve to bridge the well by making this extensive body of gap that now separates the archaeology materialavailable to them. of the Old World from that of the New. ELMERHARP, JR.

INSTITUTENEWS

Gifts to the Library U. S. Army. Polar Research and De- The Institute Library acknowledges velopment Center with thanks gifts of books and reprints U. S. Department of Commerce from the following persons and organi- U. S. Department of Commerce. Busi- zations: ness and Defence Services Admin- V. D. Aleksandrova istration. R. J. Fletcher U. S. GeologicalSurvey. Alaskan B. Fristrup Geology Branch F. A. Giannini Western Miner and Oil Review E. H.Grainger YukonTerritory. Territorial Secre- L. E. Hamelin tary W. B. Harland I. Hustich H. Ingstad I. D. Kil’giushevskii Award of Institute Grants T. Lloyd Thefollowing have been awarded I. A. McLaren research grants by the Institutefor W. H. Mathews 1960 from theSir FrederickBanting W. G. Mattox Fund, The Ellsworth Foundation, funds A. C. Miller of the Institute, andthrough contract B. N. Norin with the United States Office of Naval S. Orvig Research: Ann Savours BARNES,C. A. University of Washington, D. E.Sergeant Seattle, Wash., U.S.A. I. Skarland Review, analyse andinterpret existing D. Stewart oceanographical data for the Arctic C. W. Thomas Ocean at the libraryof the University J. H. Thomas of Washington. B. V. Tikhomirov CARTER,J. C. H. McGill University, P. J. Williams Montreal, P.Q., Canada. H. Zimmer Study of the ecology of the cod popu- Canada National Research Council lation of abrackish lake approxi- CanadaNational Research Council, mately 10 miles westof Nain, northern Library Labrador. GreatBritain. Ministry of Agricul- CHANCE,A.N. Harvard University ture, Fisheries, and Food; Fisheries School of Public Health, Boston, Mass., Laboratory, Lowestoft U.S.A. Michael Baker,Jr., Inc. Study the effect of winter conditions National Museumof Canada on the adjustmentprocess of the New York PublicLibrary Eskimosliving atBarter Island, Rockefeller Foundation Alaska.