Fish Spear With Handle

Item number E7421-0 from the National Museum of Natural History.

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Notes

Source of the information below: Inuvialuit Pitqusiit Inuuniarutait: Inuvialuit Living History, The MacFarlane Collection website, by the Inuvialuit Cultural Resource Centre (ICRC), Inuvik, N.W.T., Canada (website credits here http://www.inuvialuitlivinghistory.ca/posts/12 ), entry on this artifact http://www.inuvialuitlivinghistory.ca/items/114 , retrieved 1-27-2020: Dart used for hunting sea mammals. The dart head has two barbs along one edge, and an iron blade set into a slot at one end and held in place with an iron rivet. The other end tapers to a rounded point where it is inserted into a socket piece attached to the shaft. A hide thong is attached to the dart head through a drilled hole, and the other end of the line is wrapped around the shaft. The shaft is made of wood. It is flattened on one side to fit in the groove of a throwing board, and the end opposite from the head is expanded and has an indentation for fitting against a peg that is commonly found on throwing boards. More information here: http://www.inuvialuitlivinghistory.ca/item_types/38: Darts are used for hunting sea mammals such as seals and whales. Darts have a barbed point that is inserted into a socket at the end of a shaft. The dart head detached from the shaft and stays attached to an animal when it is struck. A line fastened to the dart head is secured at the other end to a float or to the shaft.