Fishhook matau

Humphrey No. 238 to 244: ‘Seven varieties of singular Fish-hooks made of Wood pointed with white bone, from New Zealand.’ (242 = Oz 333)

One of seven composite fish-hooks with wooden shank, bone point, lashing of twisted cords of plant material. Composite hooks often feature a vertical groove at the lower end of the shank, in order to be able to take up the convex part of the point. Sometimes the shank is so extended that it is curved, as demonstrated by Oz 339-342 (Oz 342 not shown). The shanks can also be extended as far as the point, in which only a bone point is then inserted, as shown by Oz 340. In composite hooks, the shank can be made of wood, bone or stone, while the point is usually bone. Markus Schindlbeck

Related artefacts

Fishhook matau, Inv. Oz 332
Fishhook matau, Inv. Oz 333
Fishhook matau, Inv. Oz 339
Fishhook matau, Inv. Oz 340
Fishhook matau, Inv. Oz 341