Fishing and Sea-Foods of the Ancient Maori Volume 2 (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1908 edition. Excerpt: ...line has some notches at the bottom, intended to keep the bait-string in its place. All these hooks were found in the South Island. In Fig. 17 another small shell hook is given, and three bone hooks of three different types. The ornamentation on the larger one is peculiar, and, I think, unique. I think it will be one of great antiquity. The long hook in the centre is a very uncommon type, having a cylindrical rod of bone for a back, with a bone barb lashed to it. All of them are in the Christchurch Museum. Fig. 18 shows a large wooden hook for catching sharks. When a hook of this kind was desired, a piece of wood, suitably bent, was sought for, and it is said that young roots and limbs were artificially bent while growing for this purpose. The scale shows the great size of the hook. It is in my collection in the Dominion Museum, and originally came from a settlement near the East Cape. Sharks were caught in great numbers for food, both by line and by large nets. The larger sharks were also prized for their teeth. The teeth of the mako (Lamna nanus) were held in great esteem as ornaments for the ear, their snowy whiteness contrasting well with the dark skin and darker hair. To be a satisfactory pair they must be evenly matched, and have precisely the right curve. After the arrival of Europeans the base of the tooth was covered with red sealing-wax, when it could be obtained, as being more brilliant than the red clay formerly used. In the South Island this shark appears to be very rare, and there is evidence from the old middens that the teeth used all round the coast as ornaments for necklaces were from the blue shark (Carcharias brachyurus). All the teeth found have the basal angles rubbed down, and the base bored with two holes. It is...