Tuesday, November 10, 2009

The Aleut Harpoon

The Aleut Harpoon is a very interesting object. This object is made of bone, ivory, sinew, wood and animal intestines.The arrow was made of bone and ivory, the handle was made of wood and the small bag at the bottom was made of animal intestine and tied on with sinew as was the arrow at the top. The Aleut people used it for hunting and fishing. Usually, only the men hunted because the women were the gatherers and made the clothing.

This object caught my eye and made me wonder how it was used. It is the smallest harpoon I had seen and it was also made differently than any other harpoon I had ever seen. I also never saw a harpoon made with a bladder and intestines. I would like to learn more about this object as well as any other cultural object made by the Aleuts.

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