In almost any branch of science, periods of slow and steady progress or stagnation alternate with periods of rapid development caused by new discoveries or inventions, by the introduction of new methods, or by other accelerating factors. Eskimo archaeology is no exception to this rule and, even if only thirty years have passed since archaeologists first began to search for Eskimo relics, it is already possible to distinguish four periods of development, separated by short interludes of relatively little activity. Of these four periods only the last two fall within the scope of this article, but since the understanding of recent developments in Eskimo archaeology presupposes a knowledge of previous work in that field it is necessary to summarize what was accomplished in the first two periods.

By a treaty signed in Paris on 9 February 1920, Norway was given the sovereignty of Svalbard, comprising all the islands situated between longs. 10° and 35° E. and lats. 74° and 81° N., thus including Spitsbergen, Bjørnøya (Bear Island), Hopen (Hope Island), Kong Karls Land, and Kvitøya (White Island). The treaty, which has since been recognized by a number of other states, was signed by the United States of America, Denmark, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Great Britain and Ireland, the Dominions of Canada and New Zealand, the Union of South Africa, India, and Sweden. The U.S.S.R. recognized Norway's sovereignty of Svalbard in 1924 but did not sign the treaty until 1935; Germany signed the treaty in 1925. On 14 August 1925, Norway formally took possession and the Norwegian flag was hoisted in Longyearbyen. Since then, twenty-five years have elapsed, and in honour of the occasion the anniversary was celebrated at Longyearbyen in 1950.

The coasts of Finland are fringed by vast and labyrinthine archipelagos, in which wooded islands with small hills obstruct visibility. This is a great hind-rance to topographical survey. On the other hand, conditions for carrying out hydrographic survey are excellent, as positions can be fixed on the basis of a rectangular lattice of lines run easily and accurately along the surface of the ice. There was in the past every encouragement to adopt this method of survey, as the coastal waters and the lakes in central Finland are ice-covered for some 5 months every year (from December to April) and in the northern parts of the country for an even longer period. It is true that the work is hindered by the cold, but in early spring (March and April) surveying can generally be carried out in satisfactory conditions.

At the time of the invasion of Norway on 9 April 1940 the Norwegian meteorological station at Jamesonbukta, which had been established in 1921, was manned by four men. Work went on as usual and transmissions in international code continued.

Peary Land, the northernmost part of Greenland, was until recently among the least known regions of the globe. The coasts are barred by a broad belt of virtually impenetrable pack ice, and the only means of reaching the area in, former times was by dog sledge. The development of air transport in recent years has, however, made possible a more thorough investigation of this remote land.

After loading stores at Göteborg and Oslo, the expedition sailed from London on 23 November 1949 in the chartered Norwegian sealing vessel Norsel, G. Jakobsen, master. After calling at Cape Town, where P. G. Law of the Australian Department of External Affairs and J. A. King of the Union Weather Bureau of South Africa joined the vessel as observers, the Norsel headed south on 27 December to meet the Norwegian whaling factory Thorshovdi, which was carrying an advanced party of five men, with sixty dogs and some heavy equipment. An unexpectedly wide detour had to be made across the South Atlantic as the Thorshevdi was at that time in the Scotia Sea.

It will be remembered that Exercise “Musk-Ox” began on 15 February 1946, when a mechanized force of forty-seven men in eleven Snowmobiles left Churchill on the west coast of Hudson Bay. This force travelled northwards to the Arctic Ocean, and then westwards over the sea ice to Cambridge Bay and Coppermine; from here the route lay southwards over the mainland to Fort Nelson and along the Alcan Highway to Grande Prairie, where the exercise ended in the first week of May. The route covered by the ground force is shown in the map on p. 341. The track of about 3000 miles is roughly the shape of a horseshoe extending from Churchill to Edmonton, with a considerable part of the curve lying within the Canadian Arctic.

Until about thirteen years ago managers of Hudson's Bay Company posts in northern Canada chose from their trading stocks whatever foods they required for their families and staffs. In many instances their choice did not provide well-balanced meals. The Company had at that time become concerned about the frequency of illness at northern posts. This occasionally necessitated special mercy flights to bring patients south for medical care. In 1939, therefore, the Company consulted the late Dr F. F. Tisdall, who invited three of his colleagues, Dr T. G. H. Drake, Dr J. H. Ebbs and Dr E. C. Robertson, to assist him in the task of improving nutrition at northern posts. S. H. Jackson later joined the group.

It was originally planned that the base, which was situated in Dronning Maud Land in lat. 71° 6' S., long. 10° 58' W., should consist of three large and one small huts:

Large hut 1. Accommodation for eight men, radio office, dark room and sick-bay.

Large hut 2. Accommodation for six men, kitchen and mess.

Large hut 3. Workshop, meteorological office and laboratories.

Small hut. Two Diesel generators.

Since the description of the activities of the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey for 1946–47 by Surgeon-Commander E. W. Bingham no general account of the Survey's activities has appeared in the Polar Record. The writer's connection with these activities dates from 1948, but in order to bring the story up to date, it is necessary to begin in 1947.

The Royal Air Force Flying College at Manby in Lincolnshire, England, was established in 1949. During a training course lasting one year, experienced pilots and navigators study all aspects of the operation of an aircraft as a weapon of war. Such an all-embracing syllabus calls for a knowledge of air operations, backed by practical experience, in all parts of the world. Those taking part are introduced to some of the problems peculiar to cold-weather operation in high latitudes by a number of summer air exercises in the arctic regions, and by liaison flights in the winter months to Alaska and Canada.

Between 1940 and 1945 the German navy undertook a series of expeditions to the arctic regions in order to obtain regular synoptic weather reports, the international exchange of which had practically ceased upon the outbreak of war in 1939. During these years the German naval meteorological service [Wetterdienst des Oberkommandos der Kriegsmarine] organized and dispatched some thirteen parties, whose task it was to provide the information required to meet the exigencies of modern naval warfare and to enable forecasts of the influence of the “polar front” on European weather to be made. Owing to the strategic situation these activities were confined to Svalbard, East Greenland and Zemlya Frantsa-Iosifa (Franz Josef Land). The German air force sent one expedition to Spitsbergen and two to Hopen (Hope Island) but on the whole the Luftwaffe preferred to employ aircraft flying from bases in northern Norway to obtain operational data, making special flights as and when required.

The northern limit of agriculture depends not on physiographical conditions but on economic considerations. This truism is frequently emphasized by Soviet writers, who point out that it is possible to provide the requisite conditions for plant life at any point on the earth's surface. What determines whether or not a crop is to be grown is the extent to which agriculturalists are willing to provide the plant with its appropriate environment. The latter very rarely coincides with the natural environment, and in some cases, as in the far north, may differ greatly from it. The following survey attempts to outline the extent to which Soviet agriculturalists have gone in providing plants with suitable growing conditions north of the arctic circle. The question whether the objective of arctic agriculture, food and fodder for the arctic zone, could not be realized more conveniently by transporting produce from a milder clime, will also be discussed.

The following notes are intended not as a rigid set of rules but as a guide for future antarctic travellers: common sense must be used in their application. Systematic breeding, training and driving of dogs are essential in an organization as large as the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey, but modifications must naturally be made to suit particular requirements.