Download - TLINGIT INGENUITY & TECHNOLOGY
TLINGIT INGENUITY & TECHNOLOGYGOLDBELT HERITAGE FOUNDATIONINVESTIGATING TLINGIT ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE
What does it take to thrive in Southeast Alaska?
Focused observation over generations
Trust for inherited wisdom from ancestors
Qualitative oral record
Life-encompassing moral code
Respect for the interconnectedness of everything (awareness of the metaphysical)
What else?• Deep understanding of ecological conditions
• bedrock geology
• surficial geology & soils
• climate
• marine ecology & oceanography
• vegetation
• fish & marine invertebrates
• wildlife
• human relations
• Ability to move great distances for trade, safety, and defense (navigation, transportation)
• Fishing technology & gear
• Food preservation
TransportationSoutheast Alaska requires inter-coastal waterway travel in difficult conditions (low visibility, wave and wind variability)
Knowledge of the Interior navigation
Good relationships for trade, design of canoes came from Haida
Understanding Boat Technology
PLANING BOATS
Bottom is a flat line to stern
At rest, uses hydrostatic lift (buoyancy)
At speed, uses hydrodynamic lift
Hull comes almost entirely out of water at high speeds
DRAFT AS SPEED
Powerboats need high power engine to overcome gravity to plane
DISPLACING BOATS
Hull below water, at high speed “appears trapped” behind a bow wave
Speed limited by waterline and displacement weight
Relies more on hydrostatic lift
Speed determined by distance between bow and stern waves
DRAFT AS SPEED
Higher resistance because bow is trying to climb waves while stern is being sucked back down by dynamic forces
Are Tlingit canoes planing or displacing boats?
In this picture, huge amount of the hull is below the waterline (not able to be seen)
Displacing hull speed video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lffCqqluYI
Planing boat demonstration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyME1EDreNg
Specialized Features of Boat Hulls
Rocker
Forward flotation/extended forward floatation
Wave blocking devices
Bulbous bows and bow wave dispersion devices
C-shaped double ender
Rockers
Flat bottom boats do not have rockers
In Southeast Alaska, the design is necessary to withstand the waves and wind
Does the Chief Shake canoe have a rocker?
In addition to rockers, many of these early engineering devices are seen in most boats today
Extended forward flotation devices
Wave dispersion devices
Large bulbous bows to draw boat up onto the wave
Elsewhere in Alaska….
Based on the shape, what are these boats used for?
Water-line length?
Rocker?
Forward bow flotation?
Bulbous bow structure?
More influences on today’s technology
Tools
• Adze
• Halibut hooks
Food Preservation techniques:
• Drying
• Smoking
• Oils
• Fermentation
Food PreservationSMOKING:
•Region-dependent wood use
•Cottonwood in Chilkat region (Klukwan)
•Alder throughout Southeast
•Alder contains toxins that help eliminate bad bacteria during smoking process
•Smoking also evaporates water (preventing growth of bacteria)
•Aas Kwaani-the Tree People communicate with one another (evidence in oral narratives)
chemical communication between root systems
one alder will alert the grove to raise levels of toxins when deer are grazing nearby
Food PreservationDRYING:
• Water removal inhibits growth of microorganisms (evaporation through sun or wind drying)
OIL AS A PRESERVATIVE:
• Hooligan and seal oils were used to preserve fats and meat
• Prevents oxygen from reaching the meat, depriving bacteria of basic needs
Food Preservation
FERMENTATION:
• Occurs in oxygen-deprived environments
• Metabolic process that converts sugars into acids, alcohols, or gases
• Wine and beer fermentation is relatively safe and controllable because adding yeast means that the yeast outcompetes other microorganisms
• Fermentation of meat is more high-risk and can be fatal if done wrong
Fermentation ContinuedBio-preservation adds lactic acid
When the fish muscle drops below a pH of 4.5 it greatly inhibits microbial growth
Traditionally, fish pits were dug and plant material and sticks were added into the pit
Today, plastic gallon jugs and bags are used
Increased risk of Botulism caused by the Botulinum bacteria which thrives in anaerobic environments
Images & References
Slideshow modified from Henry Hopkins, Helen Watkins, and Fred White’s presentation during pilot class
Wikimedia Commons Images:
• Albacore Dinghy-Dabbler 2005
• Imperial War Museums A-724-Royal Navy Officer Tomlin 1940
• Archimedes; Principle-Finot 2006
• Carving adze-Waldo Brown 1910
• Walrus meat-Ansgar Walk 1999
Tlingit canoe-SMU Central University Library 1887
Chief Shake’s canoe-University of Washington Libraries 1916
Halibut Hook-FishEx Alaska Seafood