| The next day, an airport worker unexpectedly brings over a fabulous collection
of Eskimo artifacts. He had dug them up at a site not far from town: arrow and
harpoon points, stone tools, wooden bowls, an adze still lashed together with
caribou sinew, and even a plate made from a whale vertebra.
Fitzhugh places the objects -- many of which were made from walrus ivory
-- on the bed in his hotel room. According to Fitzhugh, some are as much as 1,500
years old. As he describes their history and use, other members of the team
stare in wonder. "This is perhaps the most interesting object," he says,
holding
up a beautifully preserved wooden piece. "It's an atlatl, which is used for
throwing a harpoon. These objects are different from what we're
familiar with in the Bering Strait area, although there are many similarities
in style as well."
  
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