Choosing materials

The preferred material for carvings of any kind was walrus ivory. In the mid-twentieth century, the Iñupiat of Little Diomede Island distinguished between several kinds of ivory: ‘green’, ‘new’ and ‘old’. ‘Green’ ivory is fresh and recently harvested. ‘New’ ivory has been seasoned by drying, and becomes discoloured over time. By contrast, ‘old’ walrus ivory refers to multicoloured tusks found on the beach, which have been discoloured through exposure to mineral and vegetable matter for years or even centuries.

Walrus ivory is used especially for larger objects such as bow drills or pipes. This is not only because the size of the walrus tusks permitted artists to make larger objects, but also because of its structure: unlike the ivory from pachyderms such as mammoths or mastodons, walrus ivory does not split into rings.

Mammoth or mastodon ivory is known as ‘fossil’ ivory. Along with sea mammal teeth, it might be used as a substitute for walrus ivory when making smaller objects. In addition, ‘fossil’ ivory (Fig. 12) was preferred for items such as arrow-shaft straighteners and stone pressure flakes, where the toughness of the material was the key consideration.