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Illustration of The Little Mermaid, mid-19th century.
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The Little Mermaid

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Illustration of a giant squid versus a merman.
Slideshow

From Mermen to Architeuthis, Our Fascination with the Giant Squid

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Master carver Douglas Chilton rides in the Raven Spirit canoe at its ceremonial launch.
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The Sant Ocean Hall: Salmon Shape a Way of Life

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Blackbeard the Pirate engraving
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Blackbeard the Pirate

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Pirate William Dampier's shipboard artist carefully recorded the species that Dampier found new and unusual.
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Australian Fish and Cuttlefish

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eskimos land a skin boat in the ice
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Siberian Yupik Eskimo Skin Boat

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a part human, part horse, part fish on an early atlas
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Mythical Creatures on Maps

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After leaving Australia, Dampier and his men reached the western coast of New Guinea on New Year’s Day 1700. There Dampier observed birds that he had never seen before, like the “stately land-fowl” shown here.
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New Guinea Birds

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As soon as Dampier set foot in Australia, he began making observations and collecting specimens of plants, which he carefully pressed between the pages of books to be studied by the “ingenious” and “curious” upon his return to England. As Dampier conducted his investigations, his artist made detailed sketches like these.
Slideshow

Discoveries in Australia and New Guinea

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a seal skin kayak
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Yup'ik Kayak

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Explore the different cultures of the territory between the Arctic and Pacific oceans. The area is home to over 150,000 Indigenous residents, whose diverse languages and cultures are both a link to history and the foundation for contemporary lives.
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Smithsonian Alaska Native Collections

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The arrows show the direction of ocean currents recorded by William Dampier while crossing “La Grande Mer du Sud”—the Pacific Ocean.
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Pacific Ocean Currents

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