Tikchik village: a nineteenth century riverine community in ... - Cluster

VANSTONE: TIKCHIK VILLAGE 275isobvious that they would have been hafted, one on either side ofthe shaft, with the large barbs facing each other (Nelson, 1899,PI. LXVII, 3). When a fish was struck these barbs would be forcedapart to help hold the fish transfixed on a barbed or plain centerprong. Five barbless prongs of antler appear to have been scoredfor hafting as center prongs for the two or three-pronged fish spear,while a sixth specimen of the same material is thicker than the othersand has a pair of symmetrically-placed barbs on each side near thepoint (PI. 4,14). A large fish spear point of antler is broken at theproximal end and has two large barbs along one side near the tip(PI. 4,13). A point such as this would presumably be hafted to along shaft; a spear of this type is illustrated by Nelson (1899, PI.LXVII, 4). The identification of another antler specimen is doubtful.It is socketed at the proximal end to receive a thin shaft, butThis implement may have been in-the tip is unfinished (PL 4,12).tended as an arrowhead.There are two antler artifacts which are definitely arrowheads.One specimen has a sharp shoulder and plain conical tang, two brokenbarbs along one side, a blade slit and a single engraved line runningalong one side from the proximal end of the blade slit to the shoulderof the tang (PI. 4,2). The other has a sloping shoulder and thinspatulate tang; there are seven small barbs along one side and asmall notch just above the shoulder of the tang (PI. 4,i). There isalso a small, antler blunt arrowhead, probably unfinished. It has asharp shoulder, rectangular tang and comes to a point at the top(PI. 5,9).The 18 antler splitting wedges vary in length from 8 to 18 cm.and average 12 cm. All are of the same type, being blunt at one endand tapering to a wedge-shaped tip at the other (PI. 5,6-7). None,however, shows signs of extensive use. There is also a single bonespecimen 21 cm. in length made from the proximal end of a cariboufemur.Two skin scrapers made from caribou scapulae have been cutlongitudinally to form a sharp scraping edge (PI. 5,13). Two completechisels have thick metal blades inserted into antler sleeves.The handle of one specimen has a series of parallel incised lines runninglongitudinally from the proximal end to a series of three barelyvisible parallel incisions running around the implement near the pointwhere the blade is inserted (PI. 5,8).Awls are divided into two types. The first is represented by 12specimens made from split pieces of bone and worked to a fine point