Ice Scratcher
date: label: Accession Date
content: 9 Feb 1882
name: label: Donor Name
content: Edward W. Nelson
notes: label: Notes
content: FROM CARD: "ILLUS. IN BAE 18TH AR, PT. 1; PL. LII-6; P. 126."
label: Notes
content: This object is on loan to the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, from 2010 through 2027.
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 https://alaska.si.edu/record.asp?id=133 , retrieved 7-17-2018; see web page for additional information: Ice scratcher. When stalking a maklak (bearded seal) a man would scrape the sea ice with this tool, making a sound just like a seal digging its breathing hole. The familiar scratching comforted the animal as the hunter crept closer, his harpoon ready to strike. To blend in with the surroundings, the hunter wore a parka with a white-trimmed hood and hid his body behind a large mitten made of polar bear or white dog skin.
label: Record Last Modified
content: 3 Feb 2022
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: St. Lawrence Island, Bering Sea, Alaska, United States, North America
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Eskimo, Yupik, St. Lawrence Island
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 82A00003
label: USNM Number
content: E63270-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Ice Scratcher
physicalDescription: label: Length - Object
content: 30 cm