Description (Physical description)
Bone Harpoon Socket
Event Date
Author: maa

Context (Field collection)
Area C. Excavated by Graham Rowley, British Canadian Arctic Expedition, likely in August 1936.
Event Date 8/1936
Author: maa

Context (References)
Rowley, G. (2007). Cold Comfort: My Love Affair with the Arctic. 2nd edition. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press.
Event Date 2007
Author: Sophie Wardle

Description (Physical description)
Harpoon head made from bone or antler. Rounded tip with long end-blade slot. Rounded perforation through this from both faces. Slightly tapering form, with a circular perforation located one third and two thirds of the way down the length; both are seated in shallow grooves on each face. Groove runs around object, just above base. Closed socket of round shape in base, now partly exposed due to damage at base. White and light brown in colour. Crack in base. Some organic material in blade slot.
Event Date 14/10/2024
Author: Sophie Wardle

Conservation (Pest Debris Removed)
CON.2024.6044 | Pest Debris Removed
Event Date 15/10/2024
Author: Stephanie De Roemer

Context (Amendments / updates)
When this collection (Z 46186 – Z 46192) was registered, it had lost association with its excavation site and was tentatively listed as from Southampton Island. However, the excavation markings (C1.I.1, for example) are consistent with the numbering system used by Rowley, whereby the first letter (C, in this case) corresponds to the first letter of the site. In the index to Rowley’s autobiography (2007) there is a list of excavations and Coats Island is the only one beginning with ‘C’, it has also not yet been identified in MAA’s collection. Unlike most of the other sites excavated by Rowley in c 1936-1939, MAA does not appear to have the excavation notebook for Coats Island, which would have confirmed this. Therefore Coats Island has been tentatively added to the Place field, and the tentative excavation date (August 1936) added to the Field Collection.
Event Date 8/10/2024
Author: Sophie Wardle