Game sticks

Museum number:
1-258623
Permalink:
ark:/21549/hm21010258623
Accession number:
Acc.4178
Description:
Smooth, natural colored wooden gamesticks with tapered ends; wood is light weight and polished; four have black band of mineral paint in center. Length ca. 19 cm. Used in a guessing game between two representatives of two groups. Players take turns in hiding bundle behind back, mixing them up and splitting them between their two hands, the other player must guess which hand holds the stick with the black band. Bets have become a common occurrence in this game.
Donor:
Jane E. Gregory and Joseph Gregory
Collection place:
Northwestern California
Verbatim coll. place:
California; Northern California; Northwestern California
Culture or time period:
Hupa
Collector:
Frank Graham
Collection date:
1926-1927
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Gambling sticks
Function:
5.6 Sports, Games, Amusements; Gambling and Pet Accessories
Context of use:
Used in a guessing game between two representative of two groups. Players take turns in hiding bundles behind back, mixing them up and spliting them between their two hands, the other player must guess which hand holds the stick with the black band.
Department:
Native California (archaeology and ethnology)
Dimensions:
length 19 centimeters
Images:
Hearst Museum object titled Game sticks, accession number 1-258623, described as Smooth, natural colored wooden gamesticks with tapered ends; wood is light weight and polished; four have black band of mineral paint in center. Length ca. 19 cm. Used in a guessing game between two representatives of two groups. Players take turns in hiding bundle behind back, mixing them up and splitting them between their two hands, the other player must guess which hand holds the stick with the black band. Bets have become a common occurrence in this game.
Legacy documentation:
Documentation associated with Hearst Museum object titled Game sticks, accession number 1-258623, described as Smooth, natural colored wooden gamesticks with tapered ends; wood is light weight and polished; four have black band of mineral paint in center. Length ca. 19 cm. Used in a guessing game between two representatives of two groups. Players take turns in hiding bundle behind back, mixing them up and splitting them between their two hands, the other player must guess which hand holds the stick with the black band. Bets have become a common occurrence in this game.

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