Harpoon-Head

Date1819-1822

MediumBone

ClassificationsAgriculture/subsistence

Terms

Object numberC03226

DescriptionHead of a harpoon spear. From the Franklin Expedition 1819-22.

Inuit and Eskimo harpoon heads were either toggle heads or barbed heads. The main difference between these two styles lies in the way each cements the animal in place - the toggle-head twists 90 degrees through a complex system of external lines and pulleys, while the barbed heads simply had teeth along the edges that secured the harpoon in place. This harpoon head is evidently of the second category, with a longer shape and teeth running along the side such that the piece could easily puncture flesh but not so easily come loose.

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