Hunting tools and prestige in Northern Athabascan culture: Types, distribution, usage, and prestige of Athabascan daggers

Abstract

Y-shaped copper or iron daggers found in Alaska and Yukon are generally attributed to the Northern Athabascan cultures. This study reveals their detailed distribution, types, and usage. Additionally, we discuss the relation between daggers as hunting tools and prestige goods. We conclude that Athabascan daggers were not only practical hunting tools, but also were prestige goods. This idea can partly resolve the proposed contradiction of the Northern Athabascan's archaeological context that supports native copper as a practical technology and the regional ethnohistory that strongly emphasizes connection with prestige.