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Inupiat Harpoon Box

During whale hunts, this carved whale box stored harpoon blades like the three shown beside it.
(NMNH Anthropology Collections/Smithsonian Institution)
During whale hunts, this carved whale box stored harpoon blades like the three shown beside it. "Living" inside the box was meant to give the blades spiritual powers to carry a harpoon back to the blade's "home" in the whale.