Halibut hook

Museum number:
2-4727
Permalink:
ark:/21549/hm21020004727
Alternate number:
x-1123 (original number)
Accession number:
Acc.167
Description:
Carved single piece halibut hook with probably spruce root binding, cedar root cord.
Donor:
Alaska Commercial Company, Benjamin Bristol, and Older University Collections
Collection place:
Northwest Coast, United States
Verbatim coll. place:
; Northwest Coast
Culture or time period:
Haida and Tlingit
Collector:
unknown
Collection date:
unknown
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Carvings (visual works)
Function:
1.1 Hunting and Fishing
Accession date:
1904
Context of use:
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. Before placing the hook in the water, Mr. Brown's father talked to the hook saying, "Do your
Department:
Native US and Canada (except California)
Dimensions:
length 29 centimeters
Comment:
Bait tied on to hook to keep fish from nibbling it off. Tlingit name of halibut hook is "nuxwh". 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.
Loans:
S1968-1969 #43: Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology (November 7, 1968–November 7, 1968)
Images:
Hearst Museum object 1 of 2 titled Halibut hook, accession number 2-4727, described as Carved single piece halibut hook with probably spruce root binding, cedar root cord.Hearst Museum object 2 of 2 titled Halibut hook, accession number 2-4727, described as Carved single piece halibut hook with probably spruce root binding, cedar root cord.
Legacy documentation:
Documentation associated with Hearst Museum object titled Halibut hook, accession number 2-4727, described as Carved single piece halibut hook with probably spruce root binding, cedar root cord.Documentation associated with Hearst Museum object titled Halibut hook, accession number 2-4727, described as Carved single piece halibut hook with probably spruce root binding, cedar root cord.Documentation associated with Hearst Museum object titled Halibut hook, accession number 2-4727, described as Carved single piece halibut hook with probably spruce root binding, cedar root cord.Documentation associated with Hearst Museum object titled Halibut hook, accession number 2-4727, described as Carved single piece halibut hook with probably spruce root binding, cedar root cord.

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