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Catalog Data

Collector:
Edward W. Nelson  Search this
Donor Name:
Edward W. Nelson  Search this
Length - Object:
130.8 cm
132 cm
Maximum Width - Object:
31.12 cm
Culture:
Tanaina (Dena'ina)  Search this
Object Type:
Snowshoe
Place:
Iliamna Lake, Alaska, United States, North America
Accession Date:
1879
Notes:
FROM 19TH OR EARLY 20TH CENTURY EXHIBIT LABEL WITH CARD: "SNOW-SHOES.---ROUND FRAME; THE NETTING OF DEER SINEWS TWISTED INTO TWINE AND ROVE THROUGH FRAME; ROUND TOE, STRONGLY CURVED UP; POINTED HEEL. RIGHT AND LEFT, A SLIGHT DIFFERENCE BEING MADE IN THE CURVES OF THE FRAMES. TWO SHORT LOOPS OVER TOES AND A LONG ONE AROUND FOOT ABOVE HEEL SECURE THEM TO FEET. LENGTH, 51 1/2 INS. GREATEST BREADTH, 12 1/4 INS. LAKE ILIAMNA, ALASKA, 1879. 38,874. COLLECTED BY E. W. NELSON. USED BY KENAI (INGALIK) INDIANS."
Source of the information below: Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center Alaska Native Collections: Sharing Knowledge website, by Aron Crowell, entry on this artifact http://alaska.si.edu/record.asp?id=566, retrieved 8-13-2012: Snowshoes, Dena'ina. Upper Tanana people ascribed the invention of snowshoes to the far-traveling ancient hero Tsa-o-sha. Large, round-toed traveling shoes with tailed heels may be as long as a man is tall and provide maximum flotation in deep snow. Trimble Gilbert called this type laii vik'ii itree (meaning "a dog cries after someone") in Gwich'in, because dogs sink in soft snow and can't keep up with a man who is wearing them. On crusted snow a hunter on snowshoes and his dogs could easily run down a moose, which breaks through to its belly with every step. This pair is from the Dena'ina people.
This object is on loan to the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, from 2010 through 2027.
Illus. p. 297 in Jones, Suzi, James A. Fall, and Aaron Leggett. 2013. Dena'inaq' huch'ulyeshi: the Dena'ina way of living.
Record Last Modified:
30 Jan 2022
Specimen Count:
2
Topic:
Ethnology  Search this
Accession Number:
008133
USNM Number:
E38874-0
See more items in:
Anthropology
Data Source:
NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/38a6dbb9b-08bb-47e8-8d60-4da0bfa4d4c1
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmnhanthropology_8422025