Catalog Number
|
Catalog Number |
CAS 0493-0265 | |
| Category | Jewelry & Metalwork; Weaponry | |
| Object Name | Spear | |
| Culture | Gabra | |
| Global Region | Sub-Saharan Africa | |
| Country | Kenya | |
| State/Prov./Dist. | Meikona, Gabraland | |
| County | ||
| Other Geographic Data | Meikona, Gabraland | |
| Maker's Name | Unknown | |
| Date of Manufacture | ca. 1970s | |
| Collection Name | Torry Collection (Gabra) | |
| Materials | Metal: Iron; Wood | |
| Description | Hunting spear with straight wooden shaft that has been stripped of its bark and lateral branches and scraped and sanded smooth, and slightly tapered on both ends; Proximal end is fitted with a chisel-like point with a blunt, flat tip that melds into a hollow cylindrical socket into which is inserted a second and similar tip with a similar socket into which the wooden shaft is inserted; Distal end is fitted with an very short double-edged lanceolate-shaped blade that melds into a hollow cylindrical socket into which the wooden shaft is inserted; According to original field notes, the metalwork for Gabra spears is done by Konso blacksmiths; When used for hunting, the proximal end is sometimes plunged into the ground as an animal charges and the animal subsequently impales itself on the proximal end. | |
| Dimensions (cm) | Max Diam = 2.2, Length = ca. 153.0 | |