МАЭ № 568-6

Model of a two-hatched kayak

Chugach

prior to 1845

harbor seal skin, phoca bowels, caribou hair, seal sinew, paint, woolen thread

length 91 cm, width 12.5 cm, height including the figure 20 cm, height of the hull 7.5 cm, height of the nose 12 cm

Two characteristic details support the attribution of this model kayak to the Chugach. The first is that the figure of a hunter is wearing a woven hat with three cylinders on the top. Hats of this type were found more often among the Chugach than among the Kodiak Alutiiq people. All three hats in the MAE collection with cylinders on top belong to the Chugach. Secondly, the figure of a hunter in this model kayak is shooting with a bow and arrow. Only the Chugach used bows and arrows to hunt otters and seals, while the Kodiak Alutiit used light harpoons launched with the aid of throwing boards.

Ethnography of America