Switching back to Newfoundland and Labrador Reproductions

Tray of Maritime Archaic Artifacts

Its back to making hafted stone tools from Newfoundland and Labrador archaeology sites today.  I have three government orders (two from Parks Canada and one from the Provincial Museum) for artifact reproductions that need to be completed and delivered by the end of the fiscal year, which is the Thursday after next.  I have several pieces for each order started or completed already, but as of right now I need to dedicate my schedule to completing the rest.

Lacing the last whip  with gut

Over the weekend, amid scheduled seminars and one big surprise party, I've wrapped up the Central Arctic set that has been my focus for the past couple of months.  There's still a little bit of drying to watch and final photos to take for my portfolio, but the build phase is pretty much over and I survived and all the pieces have survived, so I'm happy.  The last piece is a sealskin dog whip, which I'll profile in an upcoming post.

checking the hafts on barbed points

This morning, I'm printing patterns from reference photos and locating the raw materials that I'll need for for the next few pieces.  With the exception of three Dorset Palaeoeskimo knives that I'd like to finish by the weekend, I'm going to start with the most complicated pieces first.  I want to get the things with the most potential for unexpected challenges or that need the most drying time out of the way first and leave the safer, more familiar pieces until the end.  Plus, the new pieces are going to be fun - like turning some of these long barbed points from the Maritime Archaic site at Port au Choix into a 3 prong fishing spear.  I'm thinking that I might finally use some of that seal intestine that's been hanging over my head in the workshop for the last year as lashing material on some of these pieces.

Photo Credits: Tim Rast