Accession No

Z 45103.1


Description

Baleen strip with ten complete drill holes, possibly a knife handle. Rectangular strip of worked baleen with rectangular cross-section; tip is broken with material loss; shaft widens below tip before narrowing at grip, with nine holes interspersed longitudinally, tenth perforation placed beneath the final two holes, creating a triangle; pommel with oblique projection curves to the side. Brown discoloured patina, with layers of baleen de-laminating.


Place

Arctic; Greenland; Avannaata; Baffin Bay; Carey Islands; Isbjørneø [Isbjørn Island]


Period

Thule


Source

Lethbridge, Thomas Charles [excavator and donor]; 1937 Wordie Expedition


Department

Arch


Reference Numbers

Z 45103.1


Cultural Affliation


Material

Baleen


Local Term


Measurements

425mm


Events

Description (Labels & Markings)
Marked in black ink: '1937 CARY ISLANDS HUT 2'
Event Date
Author: Dominique Devadason


Description (Physical description)
Accession Register for Z 45103[.1-6]: '6 pieces of worked baleen'
Event Date
Author: Imogen Gunn (admin)


Context (Field collection)
Hut 2. Excavated in August 1937 by Thomas Lethbridge during the 1937 Cambridge Expedition to North West Greenland and the Canadian Arctic, led by James Mann Wordie. See MAA archive for list of objects (XA/1/28) and photo collection for lantern slides and photographs; see the University Library for excavation notebook (MS Add.9258/3).
Event Date 8/1937
Author: maa


Context (References)
Lethbridge, T.C. (1938). ‘Appendix II: Eskimo Archaeology’ in J.M. Wordie, et al. ‘An Expedition to North West Greenland and the Canadian Arctic in 1937’. The Geographical Journal, vol. 92(5). pp 385-418
Event Date 1938
Author: Dominique Devadason


Context (References)
Lethbridge, T.C. (1939) ‘Archaeological Data from the Canadian Arctic’, The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, vol. 69(2), pp. 187–233.
Event Date 1939
Author: Dominique Devadason


Description (Physical description)
one ?handle perforation with ten holes along the length
Event Date 14/3/2001
Author: maa


Conservation (Freezing)
CON.2024.6105 | Freezing
Event Date 26/11/2024
Author: Kirsty Kernohan


Description (Physical description)
Baleen strip with ten complete drill holes, possibly a knife handle. Rectangular strip of worked baleen with rectangular cross-section; tip is broken with material loss; shaft widens below tip before narrowing at grip, with nine holes interspersed longitudinally, tenth perforation placed beneath the final two holes, creating a triangle; pommel with oblique projection curves to the side. Brown discoloured patina, with layers of baleen de-laminating.
Event Date 19/9/2024
Author: Dominique Devadason


FM:27201

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