NAVIGATION

The ‘winged objects’ of the old Bering Sea period evolved into this form of harpoon counterweight during Punuk times. ‘Winged objects’ were once thought to be curious ivory carvings that had been found in large numbers in Alaska and Siberia, but were unknown elsewhere in the arctic. As with this ‘turreted object’ they too were most probably attached to the butt end of a harpoon propelled by a throwing board to act as a counterweight for the heavy toggle head and socket in the fore end. Beginning in the Okvik period as a small winged form they developed into a larger, more graceful, butterfly shape. In the early Punuk period the wings became narrower and inclined upward instead of outward, gradually assuming the form of a trident. This in turn developed into the ‘turreted’ form of the late Punuk as seen in this geometrically ornamented fossil ivory example.