МАЭ № 539-2

Model of the frame of a three-hatched kayak

Kodiak Eskimos

до 1820 г.

wood, sinew, baleen

length 91 cm, width 12.2 cm, height of the hull 8.2 cm, height of the nose 9.5 cm

“In front they are building a frame or hull of a kayak which is very fine and light with the greatest attention to its accuracy and symmetry, making a small round opening where a man will sit; then they stretch sewn-together skins around the frame with the exception of the hatches or places for people. Inside the kayak they spread old skins which they refer to as bedding so that they do not sit directly on the frame. A person sits in the aforementioned opening and stretches his legs out in front of him: but the Koniags for the most part paddle while on their knees, with woven grass bags underneath; the Chugach have small benches and instead of bedding use their wooden armor which provides them greater height when on their knees and ankles.” (Davydov 1812: 146)

Ethnography of America