Whaling Ritual Ornament
date: label: Accession Date
content: 3 Dec 1932
name: label: Donor Name
content: Dr. Ales F. Hrdlicka
notes: label: Notes
content: From card: "Undetermined level (no marks). Human face & 2 whales on front; a bird head (?) at each end. Line of encircling dots around edges; perforated at top for suspension. Illus.: Crossroads of Continents catalogue; Fig. 157, p. 133." Crossroads caption and text identify as an ivory plaque, Kachemak phase, ca. 500 B.C. - 500 A.D.. "The imagery points to its use in whaling ceremonies. The human face is flanked by whales; bird heads adorn the ends of the plaque; and feathers were probably once inserted into the bordering line of small holes. From the back of the plaque projects a lug which served as a hand or mouth grip." In 2000, a cast of tinted polyester resin was made from this artifact for exhibition purposes. Cast has been given same catalogue number as original and stored with it. Illus. Fig. 162, p. 166 in Crowell, Aron, Amy F. Steffian, and Gordon L. Pullar. 2001. Looking both ways: heritage and identity of the Alutiiq people. Fairbanks, Alaska: University of Alaska Press.
label: Notes
content: Source of the information below: Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center Alaska Native Collections: Sharing Knowledge website, by Aron Crowell, entry on this artifact http://alaska.si.edu/record.asp?id=355, retrieved 8-29-2012: Whaling ritual ornament, Sugpiaq (Alutiiq), Koniag. Whalers summoned spiritual power for the hunt through songs and charms. This archaeological carving from Kodiak Island has a grip on the back so it could be held in the mouth, probably by a dancer. Images of whales and a human face with a whale-tail mouth are carved on the front. Birds' heads on the ends may represent helping spirits and the small holes around the edges probably once held feathers. The artifact is 1000 - 2000 years old.
label: Notes
content: This object is on loan to the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, from 2010 through 2027; original only is on loan; cast of object was not lent.
label: Record Last Modified
content: 12 Jan 2022
label: Specimen Count
content: 2
place: label: Place
content: Kodiak Island / Uyak Bay, Kodiak Quad / Kodiak Islands, Alaska, United States, North America
topic: label: Topic
content: Archaeology
culture: label: Culture
content: Prehistoric Eskimo, Kachemak Tradition
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 119325
label: USNM Number
content: A365592-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Ornament / Cast
physicalDescription: label: Length - Object
content: 19 cm