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TINY TUNIIT CARVINGS
OF ANIMALS
TINY TUNIIT CARVINGS OF ANIMALS
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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