Weapon

Weapon

Hawaii
19th Century
material culture
weapons

A weapon made of a dark brown wood, with shark teeth affixed at one end, believed to be from ninetieth century. This object is useful for thinking about the ways in which indigenous Hawaiian groups used the materials that they had around them for producing the things which they needed. Fishing hooks and spears were also produced in great numbers during the nineteenth century and earlier, with fishing and whaling playing a significant part in Hawaiian culture. This weapon appears to be in keeping with the style of weapon that Hawaiians produced for many centuries, although many of them tended to curved rather than straight as this one is. Hawaii has a history of conflict and examining an object like this may be useful when considering past wars between tribes and islands. It is, further, worth noting that whilst Hawaiians may have used and owned such weapons, they likely would have been replaced or seen as outdated with the arrival of Europeans on the islands.

Unknown

British Museum

www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=515254&partId=1&searchText=hawaii&images=true&from=ad&fromDate=1800&to=ad&toDate=1900&page=1

19th century

Hannah Oliver

The British Museum

N/A

Material object - weapon (organics: wood, bone, thread)

19th century Hawai'i