Notes

Source of the information below: Inuvialuit Pitqusiit Inuuniarutait: Inuvialuit Living History, The MacFarlane Collection website, by the Inuvialuit Cultural Resource Centre (ICRC), Inuvik, N.W.T., Canada (website credits here http://www.inuvialuitlivinghistory.ca/posts/12 ), entry on this artifact http://www.inuvialuitlivinghistory.ca/items/228 , retrieved 12-19-2019: Harpoon model. This is an accurate model of the type of harpoon used for hunting seals at their breathing holes in the sea ice. The wooden harpoon shaft has a socket piece for a moveable foreshaft attached at one end, and an ice chisel was attached at the other end (now broken away). A section of ivory lashed to the shaft near the socket piece was most likely a hand grip. The body of the harpoon head is barbed, and has a barbed iron blade secured in a slot at its tip and held there with an iron rivet. The harpoon head and foreshaft are both attached to the shaft with lengths of sinew, and sinew has been used as lashing for attaching the socket piece, hand grip and ice chisel to the shaft. In a full-size harpoon thongs made from seal hide would have been used for that purpose. The harpoon head, forehaft, socket piece, grip and ice chisel have all been fashioned from ivory.