Abstract
A PRIZE of a gold medal and a thousand crowns has been offered by the Royal Academy of Sciences and Letters of Denmark for a study of Eskimo origins. In the statement of the conditions upon which this prize is offered for competition, it is pointed out that there are two main opposing views on the origins and ethnological affinities of the Eskimo. The older of the two theories to which reference is made derives from the views put forward by the Danish authority, J. H. Rink, in 1871, that the Eskimo were of close affinity to the Indians of North America and had originated in a comparatively restricted centre in the interior of the American continent, from which they had migrated to Alaska and afterwards spread across the northern area as far as Greenland. Later, the place of origin was defined more precisely as in the neighbourhood of Hudson Bay. The alternative theory, which it may be said is that now more generally held, is that the Eskimo, while showing affinities with the Indians, are derivative from certain peoples of Eastern Asia, but there is considerable difference of opinion on many points. Dissertations have, therefore, been invited in which an attempt is to be made to resolve the problem of the origin of the ancient Eskimo civilisation in the light of every available class of evidence, physical character, culture, linguistic, folklore and the like. The result of the competition will be announced in February next.
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Eskimo Studies. Nature 134, 845–846 (1934). https://doi.org/10.1038/134845d0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/134845d0