Catalog Number
|
Catalog Number |
CAS 0143-0093 | |
| Category | Weaponry | |
| Object Name | Bird spear | |
| Culture | Native Alaskan | |
| Global Region | North America | |
| Country | USA | |
| State/Prov./Dist. | Alaska | |
| County | unknown | |
| Other Geographic Data | unknown | |
| Maker's Name | Unknown | |
| Date of Manufacture | unknown (pre-1906) | |
| Collection Name | N/A | |
| Materials | Wood; Bone; String | |
| Description | Spear for hunting birds, consisting of a cylindrical wood shaft that tapers at proximal end; Distal end of shaft is tapers very slightly and is truncated and has a single elongated bone point with barbs along one lateral edge socketed into its end; Flanking the central point on each side are two more similar points (for a total of five) which are hafted in grooves further back along the shaft and secured with multiple wrappings of cotton string; All five points are positioned side-by-side, and a bone spacer bar is laid across them on one face, abutting the distal end of the shaft, and secured with additional string wrapping; Each of the points is somewhat concave-convex in longitudinal cross-section and they are positioned so that the convex, barbed edge is on the inside. Small traces of whitish bird feathers are embedded within the string wrappings of the repaired outermost bone point, indicating this spear was used for bird hunting rather than fishing. | |
| Dimensions (cm) | Max Diam = 10.3, Length = 118.8 | |