Yámana (Yahgan) fish spear
ca. 1920
Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina
Beech wood shaft, whale bone, seal hide
311 x 4 cm
Collected by Samuel K. Lothrop
14/2273
Yámana (Yahgan) seal harpoon
ca. 1920
Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina
Cypress wood shaft, whale bone, seal hide
280 x 6 cm
Collected by Samuel K. Lothrop
14/2274
Yámana (Yahgan) seal harpoon
ca. 1920
Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina
Cypress wood shaft, whale bone, seal hide
310 x 6 cm
Collected by Samuel K. Lothrop
14/2275
Yámana were canoe people, rather than land hunters. Yámana men traveled in the front of their canoes with harpoons and spears close at hand to catch sea lions, seals, and the smaller dolphins and whales. Larger whales were beyond the capacities of this technology. The harpoon and spear points were made from bone.
