Wood handle, head made from piece of lower jaw of large whale; rawhide lashing.
Donor:
James P. Heath, Phyllis Heath Walker, and Ruth Mary Heath
Collection place:
Wainwright, North Slope Borough, Alaska
Verbatim coll. place:
Alaska; Wainwright
Culture or time period:
Alaskan Eskimo
Collector:
Harold Heath
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Mauls (striking tools)
Accession date:
1964
Context of use:
Pitch and organic material adhering to head. Used to crush large bones both to obtain marrow and to facilitate the rendering of fat used in making pemmican. May have formerly been used for driving wedges, etc.
Department:
Native US and Canada (except California)
Dimensions:
length 27 centimeters
Comment:
Remarks: cf. Murdoch, Pt. Barrow Eskimo, pp. 93-99.