Whale Dart
date: label: Accession Date
content: 23 Jan 1868
label: Collection Date
content: 1867
name: label: Collector
content: Capt. William A. Howard
label: Donor Name
content: Capt. William A. Howard
notes: label: Notes
content: FROM CARD: "FISH SPEAR.-SHAFT OF CEDAR, 1/2 INCH IN DIAMETER, PAINTED RED, AND END ENLARGED INTO A HEAD IN OUTER END OF WHICH IS INSERTED AND LASHED A FLAT BARBED PIECE OF BONE 1 FOOT IN LENGTH. IN A SLOT IN OUTER END OF LATTER IS LASHED A METAL SPEAR-HEAD. USED IN FISHING BY ALASKAN INDIANS, SITKA. LENGTH, 4 FT. 9 INS.; POINT, 3 INS. ALASKA, 1867. 5,775. COLLECTED BY CAPTAIN HOWARD, U.S. REVENUE MARINE SERVICE."
label: Notes
content: On the shaft of the artifact itself, "Ounalaska" is written in old handwriting and Sitka has been crossed out. Per Aron Crowell, 2008, this object is an Aleut/Unangan whale dart, and therefore the Unalaska locality would be correct.
label: Notes
content: Provenience note: collection locality of Sitka appears to have been erroneously attached to a number of the objects in the Howard collection. It appears the majority of the objects were probably instead collected in Unalaska/Aleutians (and some in St. Paul/Kodiak, Kodiak Island.)
label: Record Last Modified
content: 14 Apr 2020
label: Specimen Count
content: 2
place: label: Place
content: Unalaska Island / Unalaska, Aleutian Islands / Unalaska Quad / Fox Islands, Alaska, United States, North America
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Aleut (Unangax^ ; Unangan; Unangas)
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 001161
label: USNM Number
content: E5775-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Dart
physicalDescription: label: Diameter - Shaft
content: 1.3 cm
label: Length - Shaft
content: 145 cm
label: Length - Point
content: 8 cm