Face — Giinaq Giinan tang’raqa! – I see your face! The human face is the most frequently portrayed image on Alutiiq masks. Although many masks have animal elements–a beak-shaped mouth or encircling feathers for example–very few actually show complete animal faces. A rare example is an owl mask collected from an archaeological site in the […]
Seal — Isuwiq Isuwiq piturnirtuq. – The seal tastes good. Kodiak’s sea mammals provided a variety of resources for Alutiiq people. Seals, sea lions, porpoises, and whales produced meat for food, oil for light, hides for boat coverings, and bone and sinew for tools. Harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) were particularly important because they were available […]
Baleen — Kagit’ruaq Inartat kag’it’ruamek pilitaallriit. – They used to make baskets out of baleen. What do hooves, horns, hair, claws, fingernails, feathers, scales, beaks, and baleen have in common? They are all made of keratin, a fibrous protein found in living organisms. In humans, keratin makes up the outer layer of our skin […]
KODIAK, Alaska—Archaeologists with the Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological Repository have uncovered fragments of woven grass artifacts estimated to be 3,000 years old. The rare finds were made on August 18, 2023, during excavations of an ancestral sod house on the shore of Karluk Lake, Kodiak Island, Alaska sponsored by Koniag. The fragments, which appear to […]