alaskan eskimo ppt
Post on 07-Jul-2015
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S
Alaskan EskimoIvory Carvings
• Being a subsistence people, Alaskan Eskimos hunt whales, walrus, and seals to survive.
• They use as much of the animals as possible (eating, making something functional, or making art work to keep or sell).
• No one must touch these bones except the Native Alaskans if/when they are ready to make use of them.
• Also, any animal they hunt is highly respected even after death, from the way the meat is stored to what happens to the bones.
• These whale bones are aged and are ready to use for carving or structural supports.
• These whale
backbone will be
aged for some time
so the oil leaches
out of it, and
animals will
continue to clean
the meat from it,
before it’s ready to
be used.
• Homes are utilitarian
on the outside (it’s
the inside that
counts)
• There is snow
covering everything
for 10 months of the
year in very harsh
conditions.
• What they use for
underpinning of
houses are whale
skulls and backbone
vertebrae.
• These whale ribs are
used as sentinels to
guide the Native
Alaskans back to the
right part of the shore
from their hunting
trips.
• As the island is flat
with no trees, this is
how they navigate.
• Each bone is unique
and recognizable to a
particular part of the
island.
S Alaskan ivory carvings reflect practices and techniques
that have been part of Alaskan culture for generations.
S Almost as interesting as the carvings themselves, are the
raw materials from which they are made.
S Some carvings are made from the fossilized ivory tusks
of the walrus.
S This ivory is already precious enough, but it’s made even
more so by the careful attention of native craftsmen, who
sculpt it into one-of-a-kind pieces of art.
S We are going to attempt our very own ivory carving… using soap! Here are the steps:
S Get a bar of soap.
S Put down newspaper at desk
S Decide on a subject to carve
S Draw an outline of the carving on the soap
S Obtain an exacto knife.
S Remove the soap outside the outline using slivers, not large chips.
S Add detail to the inside of the outline to refine the design further.
S Repair small cracks and rough patches by using a toothpick to slightly dampen the area, then smooth over the cracks with your fingers.
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