Page:The Thule Culture and Its Position Within the Eskimo Culture.djvu/23

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mediary forms between the two groups. Here might serve, as a first division indicator, whether the harpoon head has a shaft socket or whether in the rear end it terminates in a blunt point which rests in a hole in the socket piece of the shaft; the first of these groups comprises both toggle and barbed harpoons, but principally the former; the second group, which is only represented by a few specimens, of a form which only varies slightly, exclusively comprises barbed harpoons.

The harpoon heads of the first of these two groups, that with shaft socket, is then divided according to the following system:

1. Thin;^[1] the line hole runs directly from side to side.
   1. Open shaft socket, which is closed by a lashing; one slanting spur.^[2]
      1. Neither barb nor inserted blade.
      2. With barb; no inserted blade.
         1. Two opposite barbs.
         2. One barb.
         3. Several barbs.
      3. Without barbs; inserted blade.
         1. Blade parallel with line hole.
         2. Blade at right-angles to line hole.
      4. Both barbs and inserted blade.
         1. One barb; blade parallel to line hole.
         2. One barb, blade at right-angles to line hole.
         3. Two barbs, blade parallel to line hole.
         4. Two barbs, blade at right-angles to line hole.
   2. Closed shaft socket. One or two spurs.
      1. Neither barbs nor inserted blade.
      2. With barbs; no inserted blade.
      3. Without barbs; inserted blade.
         1. Blade parallel to line hole.
         2. Blade at right-angles to line hole.
      4. Both barbs and inserted blade.
2. Flat; the line hole having a curved path, with both openings on the upper side.
   1. Open shaft socket. Mostly two spurs.
      1. Neither barbs nor inserted blades.
      2. With barbs; no inserted blade.

1. A thin harpoon head has its greatest width at right-angles to the line hole, a flat harpoon head in direction of the line hole.
2. By "spur" is understood a barb at the rear end of the harpoon head; the term “barb" is thus limited to the barbs on the sides (after Birket-Smith).