Wooden halibut hook: painted red with joining cordage missing.
Donor:
Ellinor C. Davidson and George Davidson
Collection place:
Northwest Coast, United States
Verbatim coll. place:
; Northwest Coast
Culture or time period:
Tlingit
Collector:
George Davidson
Collection date:
unknown
Materials:
Asphalt (bituminous material), Metal, and Wood (plant material) (painted)
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Fishhooks
Function:
1.1 Hunting and Fishing
Accession date:
1945
Context of use:
Hook for catching halibut. Bait tied onto hook to keep fish from nibbling it off. "The correct distance between the point of the barb and the shank is measured by placing the thumb on the shank such that the thumb nail touches the barb point.
...the current, floating about 4 ft. off the bottom. Remarks by Charles Brown, 12 June, 1964. Text from Lowie Museum of Anthropology "Man the Inventor" exhibit, 1964: "The...hooks...are...baited with squid. Often set in pairs, one above the other, the hooks float above the ocean floor attached to a stone sinker on the bottom. The sinker, in turn, is attached by kelp lines to a float on the surface of the water. When the halibut attempts to pull the bait away, the barb catches its withdrawing head, and the weight of the sinker securely hooks it. When the fisherman feels the sinker move, he pulls in the line, thereby pulling the hook over, inverting the fish and making it relatively helpless." Tlingit name of halibut hook is "nuxwh".
Loans:
S2016-2017 #10: Fort Ross Historical Museum (May 20, 2017–May 20, 2017)