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

VANSTONE: TIKCHIK VILLAGE 285Thus the listing of some artifacts as being of(see Oswalt anddegree of certainty.local manufacture should be considered tentativeVanStone, 1967, pp. 48-49).The largest number of indigenously manufactured metal artifactsare made from tinned steel plate of the type normally used in themanufacture of tin cans. Wrought and cast iron, together with otherheavy metals and brass were available in small quantities, but canmetal could be cut and worked more easily and rapidly than any ofthese metals and even easier than stone and other indigenous materials.Therefore, it is not surprising that, once it was readily availablein sufficient quantities, can metal was favored for a variety ofimplements.A single fish spear point has been crudely fashioned from the rimof a large bucket. It is 21.5 cm. in length and a large single barb hasbeen cut along one side approximately 8 cm. from the distal end.Three blunt arrowheads have been constructed by fitting a spentrifle cartridge over the end of a thin wooden shaft. A small sectionof the shaft protrudes from the open end of each cartridge. On oneof these arrowheads the cartridge is held in place by a crude metalrivet which has been driven through one side of the case and into theshaft. The other two cases simply fit tightly over their shafts(PL 7,4). All three cartridges are of the centerfire type; one is .44caliber but the caliber of the other two is unknown.The three lead musket balls are all of different sizes. All have aburr running medially around them, indicating the division of thetwo halves of the mold in which they were made. These ballswould have been used in weapons with barrel diameters of approximately1.2, 1.5, and 1.8 cm., respectively (PI. 7,5-6).End bladed knife blades of light can metal are considered to be oflocal manufacture largely because the material could easily be workedby the Eskimos with available tools. There are 13 specimens whichrange in length from 8.5 cm. to 20.5 cm. Two of the blades aremade of metal that has been folded for added strength. All specimens,with one exception, are roughly rectangular in shape andpointed at the distal end (PI. 7,8) ; the exception has a broad tangfor insertion into a handle (PI. 7,18).There are five ulu blades, all of which have been cut from the sidesor tops of cans. They vary in length from 7.5 to 16 cm., and all areflat across the top with a semilunar edge (PI. 7,12,14).Eight crooked knife blades are all similar although they vary inlength from 4.5 to 11.5 cm. They curve up at the distal end, nar-