Polar region

Harpoons

Harpoons were the ideal hunting implement. The men used them for catching seals, whales and other marine mammals and for spearing fish. The Inuit believed that it would offend the animal’s spirit if it was killed by an ugly, badly made harpoon. For hunting whales, they used a harpoon with a detachable head and a throwing board that could catapult it up to 14 metres.

[peinture #07013]
#07013
Inuit Hunter in Kayak
1995
Danemark, Western Greenland
Book illustration, dry pastel and gouache, on Letraset paper
Credit: Frédéric Back and Libre Expression
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