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Shark-Tooth Sword reveals “lost” shark species
Shark-tooth weapons once used for warfare in the Central Pacific have revealed two locally extinct shark species, a new study says. Historical records show that natives of the Gilbert Islands, now part of the country of Kiribati, once battled one another using wooden swords, spears, daggers, and other weapons inlaid with the sharp, jagged teeth of local shark species.
By studying 120 such weapons housed at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, scientists determined that Gilbert Islanders used teeth from at least 17 shark species in making their weapons. The Gilbert Island weapons used in the study date to the mid-19th century, when the first British and American missionaries and whalers arrived at the island. (Read about the pioneers of the Pacific.)
The main bodies of the weapons were made of wood, and shark teeth were painstakingly sewn along their edges using thread made from coconut fiber and human hair. Because the islanders had no metal, they used spiral snail shells to bore holes in the teeth before sewing them to the weapons. According to written eyewitness accounts by the missionaries, the Gilbert Islanders used the shark weapons in violent and often fatal territorial disputes. “Space on the island was at a premium,” explained Drew, whose study was published online April 3 in the journal PLoS ONE.
Often in these battles, two “champions” would fight in a central skirmish. The champions “were dressed in this really cool armor made of very tightly woven coconut cords, and they had tiger shark ‘brass knuckles’ and helmets made out of dried pufferfish with spikes on them,” Drew said. The champions’ weapons might include elaborate swords made of three separate shark-teeth-encrusted blades bound together with stingray skin. Meanwhile, as the champions clashed, their “henchmen” would duke it out in the background, he said.
According to the missionaries,“the henchmen had these really long spears that were completely covered with shark teeth. And while the two main guys were fighting, the henchmen would basically try to reach over their guy and poke the other guy… so there was this battle of these 15-foot [4.5-meter] spears above the heads of the champions,” Drew said.
Women also took part by lobbing clubs at the enemies—sometimes hitting their own warriors.
While sharks were important for the construction of weapons, historical records indicate the Gilbert Islanders weren’t killing them just for their teeth. “The ethnographic literature suggests they used all the different parts—for shields, for household [items], and for food,” Drew said.