175:, English and Dutch whalers operating in and near the Arctic and interacting with the Inuit for centuries, they had continued to use simple, non-toggling harpoon heads that they had desperately tried and failed to improve. It wasn't until the approach of the 19th century when Inuit and Native American harpoons were looked at in closer detail and potentially inspired versions in steel such as the one-flued harpoon (intended to bend inside the whale), the grommet iron and, later in 1848, the toggle iron developed by
32:
20:
68:
When the harpoon is thrust into an animal, the top half of the point detaches and twists horizontally into the animal under the skin, allowing hunters to haul the animal to ship or shore. This harpoon technology lodges the toggling head of the harpoon underneath both the animal's skin and blubber, and instead lodges the point in the muscle, which also prevents the harpoon slipping out.
67:
versions which had only one point, a toggling harpoon has a two-part point. One half of the point is firmly attached to the thrusting base, while the other half of the point is fitted over this first point like a cap and attached to the rest of the point with sinew or another string-like material.
164:, further driving debates of Paleo-Inuit cross-cultural diffusion that have gone on since the 19th century. Toggle-headed harpoons spread south down the Pacific coast as far as California by the 2nd millennium CE, and south down inland routes as far as the Great Plains by the early
116:
contested this claim, stating that none of the western Arctic harpoons given by
Gjessing counted as true toggling harpoons and that his field was not "aware of any trace of Eskimo culture in north-west Asia west of the
144:, dating to the early second millennium BCE, contains evidence of toggling harpoon heads that may have been the predecessors of more sophisticated ones found in the later
229:
This harpoon became so important to the industry that its shape continues to symbolize whaling in the modern day. A statue of a whaler hefting a toggling harpoon in
337:
Yamaura, Kiyoshi. "The sea mammal hunting cultures of the
Okhotsk Sea with special reference to Hokkaido prehistory." Arctic Anthropology (1998): 321-334.
186:
banded around them. The grommet slid off when the iron penetrated the whale (or fish), allowing the head to toggle open as the barb caught in the tissue.
152:
who spread sophisticated harpoon technologies to the east. However, in the early second millennium BCE, evidence of toggling harpoons was found among the
132:
migrations. From the lower Amur Basin, and itself probably derived from the coast of
Chukotka, points identified as harpoon heads spread down into
92:. Regardless, this technology seems to have been forgotten in Europe and all other appearances relate to the Arctic and northern Pacific.
381:
Strong, William Duncan. "A stone culture from northern
Labrador and its relation to the Eskimo-like cultures of the northeast."
84:(D phase dated c. 4850-4500 cal BC), but their true use is not conclusive. Bronze toggling harpoon heads also appear in the
76:
Toggling harpoons have ancient origins that are difficult to place with any precision or even to identify as such. In
189:
Lewis Temple's harpoon represented the finalization of
European toggle harpoon designs. Temple, an African-American
248:
VitezoviÄ, Selena. "Antler exploitation and management in the VinÄa culture: An overview of evidence from Serbia."
311:
Tarbay, JƔnos GƔbor. "Late Bronze Age Bronze
Detachable Barbed Harpoons with Line Hole and a Spur from Hungary."
263:
264:"From Foragers to Fisher-Farmers: How the Neolithisation Process Affected Coastal Fisheries in Scandinavia"
230:
194:
182:
For the grommet iron, the pivoting head and the shaft of this harpoon were held parallel by means of a
465:
165:
470:
445:
8:
218:
420:
Pearson, Michael. "The technology of whaling in
Australian waters in the 19th century."
460:
285:
275:
214:
153:
81:
141:
97:
85:
157:
145:
118:
113:
80:, a few antler artifacts in the shape of toggle harpoons have been made by the
213:
harpoon. This harpoon became a whaling standard and replaced the fixed-point "
454:
137:
280:
176:
161:
109:
201:
to initially brace the toggle head, and created what came to be known as
129:
346:
Dikov, Nikolai N. "The earliest sea mammal hunters of
Wrangell Island."
124:
The earliest unequivocal evidence of toggling harpoons are found in the
368:
Fewkes, J. Walter. "A PREHISTORIC SHELL HEAP ON PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND."
290:
190:
93:
198:
105:
101:
39:
toggling harpoon head used for seal hunting. Off the harpoon handle.
133:
27:
toggling harpoon head used for seal hunting. On the harpoon handle.
394:
Glassow, Michael A. "Archaic
Cultural Development in California."
183:
172:
125:
89:
64:
56:
31:
19:
77:
48:
407:
Kaplan, Sidney. "Lewis Temple and the
Hunting of the Whale."
149:
60:
36:
24:
100:
claimed to identify a distribution of toggle harpoons from
52:
326:
Prehistoric Maritime Adaptations of the Circumpolar Zone.
140:
close to 6,000 years ago. The Chyortov Ovrag site on
233:, has come to act as a symbol for the city itself.
435:. Thames & Hudson, London. 2005, p. 194.
16:Harpoon technology used for whale and seal hunting
452:
422:The Australian Journal of Historical Archaeology
197:, adapted the toggling harpoon using a wooden
148:culture, which in turn gave rise to the later
370:The American Antiquarian and Oriental Journal
221:" harpoons that were widely used previously.
289:
279:
30:
18:
261:
453:
13:
313:ArchƤologisches Korrespondenzblatt
14:
482:
439:
372:(1880-1914) 18, no. 1 (1896): 30.
396:Revista de ArqueologĆa Americana
414:
401:
388:
262:Nielsen, Svein VatsvƄg (2022).
375:
362:
353:
340:
331:
328:(Walter de Gruyter, 2011), 70.
318:
305:
255:
242:
1:
236:
108:of western Russia. However,
63:when thrown. Unlike earlier
7:
224:
10:
487:
385:32, no. 1 (1930): 126-144.
315:52, no. 3 (2022): 331-361.
274:(1). De Gruyter: 956ā986.
231:New Bedford, Massachusetts
195:New Bedford, Massachusetts
136:and into the hands of the
71:
250:Quaternary International
205:and later simply as the
383:American Anthropologist
324:Fitzhugh, William, ed.
281:10.1515/opar-2022-0263
104:to as far west as the
40:
28:
433:Ancient North America
409:New England Quarterly
166:Plains Village period
128:Arctic, connected to
34:
22:
446:Toggle irons history
252:450 (2017): 209-223.
348:Arctic Anthropology
41:
29:
160:off the coast of
478:
425:
418:
412:
405:
399:
398:(1992): 201-229.
392:
386:
379:
373:
366:
360:
357:
351:
344:
338:
335:
329:
322:
316:
309:
303:
302:
300:
298:
293:
283:
268:Open Archaeology
259:
253:
246:
154:Red Paint People
45:toggling harpoon
486:
485:
481:
480:
479:
477:
476:
475:
466:Ancient weapons
451:
450:
442:
431:Fagan, Brian.
428:
419:
415:
406:
402:
393:
389:
380:
376:
367:
363:
358:
354:
345:
341:
336:
332:
323:
319:
310:
306:
296:
294:
260:
256:
247:
243:
239:
227:
203:Temple's Toggle
142:Wrangell Island
98:Gutorm Gjessing
86:Late Bronze Age
74:
17:
12:
11:
5:
484:
474:
473:
468:
463:
449:
448:
441:
440:External links
438:
437:
436:
427:
426:
424:(1983): 40-54.
413:
411:(1953): 78-88.
400:
387:
374:
361:
359:Fitzhugh, 259.
352:
350:(1988): 80-93.
339:
330:
317:
304:
254:
240:
238:
235:
226:
223:
158:Port aux Choix
146:Old Bering Sea
114:Sergei Rudenko
112:archaeologist
96:archaeologist
73:
70:
47:is an ancient
15:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
483:
472:
469:
467:
464:
462:
459:
458:
456:
447:
444:
443:
434:
430:
429:
423:
417:
410:
404:
397:
391:
384:
378:
371:
365:
356:
349:
343:
334:
327:
321:
314:
308:
292:
287:
282:
277:
273:
269:
265:
258:
251:
245:
241:
234:
232:
222:
220:
216:
212:
208:
204:
200:
196:
192:
187:
185:
180:
178:
174:
169:
167:
163:
159:
155:
151:
147:
143:
139:
138:Jomon culture
135:
131:
127:
122:
120:
115:
111:
107:
103:
99:
95:
91:
87:
83:
82:VinÄa culture
79:
69:
66:
62:
58:
54:
50:
46:
38:
33:
26:
21:
432:
421:
416:
408:
403:
395:
390:
382:
377:
369:
364:
355:
347:
342:
333:
325:
320:
312:
307:
295:. Retrieved
271:
267:
257:
249:
244:
228:
210:
206:
202:
188:
181:
177:Lewis Temple
170:
162:Newfoundland
123:
75:
59:to impale a
44:
42:
471:Inuit tools
297:29 November
291:10852/99577
219:single flue
211:iron toggle
207:toggle iron
130:Paleo-Inuit
455:Categories
237:References
191:blacksmith
199:shear pin
106:White Sea
102:Greenland
94:Norwegian
461:Harpoons
225:A symbol
215:two flue
171:Despite
134:Hokkaido
126:Siberian
55:used in
217:" and "
184:grommet
90:Hungary
72:History
65:harpoon
57:whaling
35:Modern
23:Modern
173:Basque
119:Kolyma
110:Soviet
78:Serbia
49:weapon
150:Inuit
61:whale
37:Inuit
25:Inuit
299:2023
53:tool
51:and
43:The
286:hdl
276:doi
209:or
193:in
179:.
168:.
156:of
121:".
88:in
457::
284:.
270:.
266:.
301:.
288::
278::
272:8
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
