Catalog Number
|
Catalog Number |
CAS 0143-0046 | |
| Category | Weaponry | |
| Object Name | Shark tooth sword | |
| Culture | Micronesian: I-Kiribati | |
| Global Region | Oceania | |
| Country | Kiribati (Gilbert Islands) | |
| State/Prov./Dist. | ||
| County | ||
| Other Geographic Data | unknown | |
| Maker's Name | Unknown | |
| Date of Manufacture | ca. mid to late 1800s | |
| Collection Name | N/A | |
| Materials | Wood; Requiem shark (Carcharhinus longimanus or Carcharhinus galapagensis) teeth; Human hair; Plant fiber cordage | |
| Description | Elongate wooden sword whose lateral edges are relatively straight, tapering gradually to a blunt distal point, and constricted near proximal end before forming a cylindrical hand grip and then expanding to a wider, flattened proximal end; Shaft of sword is biconvex in transverse cross-section; Twenty-five small shark teeth are aligned side-by-side along each lateral edge, extending from just above the hand grip to approx. 10.5 cm from the distal tip; Each tooth has been drilled through its center and the teeth are positioned between two peeled twigs laid flush against the sword’s shaft atop and beneath the teeth, and the various pieces lashed together with cordage plied from human hair and plant fiber; Cordage passes through each tooth and back and forth an average of 3 times from one side to the other on both faces of the sword’s shaft; Separate length of human hair cordage is wrapped around hand grip. | |
| Dimensions (cm) | Width = 7.1, Thickness = 2.2, Length = 63.0 | |