Halibut hook

Museum number:
2-19133
Permalink:
ark:/21549/hm21020019133
Accession number:
Acc.854
Description:
Composite wooden halibut hook, bird figure, barb missing.
Donor:
Ellinor C. Davidson and George Davidson
Collection place:
Northwest Coast, United States
Verbatim coll. place:
; Northwest Coast
Culture or time period:
Tlingit
Collector:
George Davidson
Collection date:
unknown
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Fishhooks
Function:
1.1 Hunting and Fishing
Accession date:
1945
Context of use:
Hook for catching halibut. Bait tied onto hook to keep fish from nibbling it off. "The correct distance between the point of the barb and the shank is measured by placing the thumb on the shank such that the thumb nail touches the barb point.
Department:
Native US and Canada (except California)
Dimensions:
length 27 centimeters
Comment:
...the current, floating about 4 ft. off the bottom. Remarks by Charles Brown, 12 June, 1964. Text from Lowie Museum of Anthropology "Man the Inventor" exhibit, 1964: "The...hooks...are...baited with squid. Often set in pairs, one above the other, the hooks float above the ocean floor attached to a stone sinker on the bottom. The sinker, in turn, is attached by kelp lines to a float on the surface of the water. When the halibut attempts to pull the bait away, the barb catches its withdrawing head, and the weight of the sinker securely hooks it. When the fisherman feels the sinker move, he pulls in the line, thereby pulling the hook over, inverting the fish and making it relatively helpless." Tlingit name of halibut hook is "nuxwh".
Images:
Hearst Museum object 1 of 2 titled Halibut hook, accession number 2-19133, described as Composite wooden halibut hook, bird figure, barb missing.Hearst Museum object 2 of 2 titled Halibut hook, accession number 2-19133, described as Composite wooden halibut hook, bird figure, barb missing.
Legacy documentation:
Documentation associated with Hearst Museum object titled Halibut hook, accession number 2-19133, described as Composite wooden halibut hook, bird figure, barb missing.Documentation associated with Hearst Museum object titled Halibut hook, accession number 2-19133, described as Composite wooden halibut hook, bird figure, barb missing.Documentation associated with Hearst Museum object titled Halibut hook, accession number 2-19133, described as Composite wooden halibut hook, bird figure, barb missing.Documentation associated with Hearst Museum object titled Halibut hook, accession number 2-19133, described as Composite wooden halibut hook, bird figure, barb missing.Documentation associated with Hearst Museum object titled Halibut hook, accession number 2-19133, described as Composite wooden halibut hook, bird figure, barb missing.Documentation associated with Hearst Museum object titled Halibut hook, accession number 2-19133, described as Composite wooden halibut hook, bird figure, barb missing.

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