Spoon
date: label: Accession Date
content: 15 Jan 1892
name: label: Donor Name
content: U.S. Geological Survey
notes: label: Notes
content: From card: "Carved from one piece of wood, a deep oval bowl with a commercial pearl button inset in the bottom of inside. Straight handle ends in two rounded knobs. Incised decorations on the outside of bowl, of cross-lined leaf forms, also some inside bowl. Bowl stained red outside and around the rim of the inside."
label: Notes
content: Illus. Fig. 26 p. 60, and discussed pp. 59 - 61 in Van Kampen, Ukjese. 2012. The History of Yukon First Nations Art, Phd dissertation, Leiden University. https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/handle/1887/18984 . Van Kampen notes: "This spoon ... is listed as collected by I.C. Russell from the Upper Yukon at Forty Mile Creek, Alaska. There is a Forty Mile River in Alaska that empties out into the Yukon River. Since the description is "Upper Yukon" I am inclined to think that I.C. Russell is referring to The Settlement of Forty Mile on the Yukon River. In the late 19th and early 20th century many Americans thought that the Yukon was part of the United States and at times locations in the Yukon were identified as Alaskan. In any case, it is most likely a Han made spoon. ... The wooden spoon is unique as it is partly made of geometric motifs such as a repeating cone design, as well as what appears to be floral designs on the inside and outside of the bowl part of the spoon. There is also a button in the center of the spoon. Because of the floral designs, which did not start until the Beaded Period after the introduction of beads into the region, as well as the button, it could not have been made before the very end of the 19th century. The cross hatching on this spoon is also quite interesting. Does it indicate a beaver? The top circle of the spoon handle could be thought of as a beaver tail yet the diamond shaped cross hatching in the second circle does not appear to be a beaver tail. Does that part represent something else? There also appears to be a small four-direction symbol at the button in the center of the bowl part of the spoon."
label: Record Last Modified
content: 10 Mar 2022
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: Yukon River (Upper) / Forty Mile Creek, Alaska, United States, North America
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Athabascan (Athabaskan)
label: Culture
content: Han (Han Hwech'in) (?)
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 025293
label: USNM Number
content: E153413-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Spoon