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• 1 2019-12-07T20:22:37+00:00 Throwing Board 8 Throwing Board, wood, ivory, hunting, projectile plain 2020-05-29T14:33:24+00:00
  
  (Central Yup’ik) nuqaq “throwing board; atlatl”, (Qawiaraq Iñupiaq) nauliġaun “spear thrower”
  
  46 cm long x 2-5.6 cm x 1.2 cm thick
  Wood, ivory inlay
  
  Alaska (exact location unknown) (Yup’ik or Iñupiaq), c. unknown
  Collector: E. W. Nelson
  Museum ID: NEL.C1.ar.0481
  
  Wooden throwing boards are used to cast small, lightweight spears while hunting waterfowl and seals. The projectile is laid in the groove on the top of the stick with its end resting against the ivory pin at the outer end, allowing the hunter to throw with greater speed; experienced hunters would be able to launch spears up to 50 yards with extreme accuracy. Throwing boards are also individualized, made to be precisely the length from the user’s elbow to the tip of their forefinger.
   
• 1 2019-12-07T20:07:27+00:00 Walrus Ivory Bead or Belt Toggle 6 Walrus Ivory Bead, ivory, walrus, bead, necklace, fire starting, buckle plain 2020-05-29T14:31:20+00:00 1876 63.76875, -163.6188
  
  
  
   

  4.85 cm length x 2-3.25 cm width x 2-2.5 cm depth
  Walrus ivory
  
  Norton Sound, Alaska (Iñupiaq or Yup’ik), c. 1876
  Collector: L. M. Turner
  Museum ID: TUR.C1.r.4600
  
  While the holes on either side of the piece indicate that it was probably strung onto a necklace, the bead was most likely part of a fire-starting kit. The closed end would be placed in the mouth and a stick would be inserted into the open end. A fire-starting bow would be used to spin the stick rapidly to create friction and catch the tinder on fire. This bead also could have been used as a toggle-like belt fastener.  Belt buckles demonstrate the carving skills and creativity of their makers. Many contain symbolism referencing the supernatural world. Belt fasteners and other special belts were passed down through family and gained increased ceremonial and potentially curative powers with use by each successive generation.

• 1 2019-12-07T20:12:54+00:00 Large Projectile 6 Large Projectile, balleen, weapon, hunting, lance, carving plain 2020-05-29T14:32:40+00:00 1881 65.26222, -166.84583
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Total L: 44.5cm 
  Shaft: 40.5 x 1.3cm 
  Tip: 4cm long x 3.5cm wide (at widest point) x .1cm thick 
  Wood, metal, baleen
  
  Port Clarence, Alaska (Iñupiaq), c. 1881
  Collector: W. H. Dall
  Museum ID: DAL.C1.abf.1130
   

  This projectile may have been an attachment for a larger lance which would be used to kill a sea mammal that had already been weakened by harpoons. The hunter would pierce the animal with the lance and the tip would detach, remaining lodged in the animal. The body of the lance tip is made of wood and is tipped with a metal point, which is attached with a strip of baleen. On the side of the lance tip, closer to the metal point, is a small carving of what appears to be a wolf or some other creature. Often hunters would mark their lances with identifying marks such as these so that if an animal escaped and was found they would know who had killed it.