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TINY TUNIIT CARVINGS
OF ANIMALS
TINY TUNIIT CARVINGS OF ANIMALS
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Tuniit, the people who lived in Nunavut before Inuit, are famous for their tiny and beautiful carvings made out of wood, walrus ivory, and other materials.
PI/KHS research has recovered the largest set of Tuniit carvings from the Kitikmeot area. It includes a rare, perfect fish carving in ivory. Also, a harpoon head for which the tip has been carved into a bird head, which Elders identified as a King Eider.
Tuniit (Late Dorset period) art from the Cambridge Bay region. Top row: Harpoon head with tip carved into a king eider (duck) head. Second row: left, human figure with clothing; middle group consisting of three small animals all with incised skeletal markings—top to bottom: bear, fish, and seal; right, human head and torso with skeletal markings. Third row: bear (side view). Bottom row: box part with skeletal markings.
Close-up photo of the arctic char carving.
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