Baleen Boat with Two Sails, Yup'ik

Baleen Boat with Two SailsSiberian Yup'ikbaleen6” tall x 10” long x 1.5” wide Baleen is a material that comes from a variety of whales including bowhead, blue, and humpback, to name a few. The material functions as a filter-feeding system inside the mouths of baleen whales as its keratin composition (also found in our hair, skin, and fingernails) gives baleen a bristle-like texture, ideal for catching small crustaceans and fish. Imagine this: the whale opens its mouth underwater, taking in water and small sea creatures like krill and shrimp. The whale then pushes the water out and the bristles trap the nutritious goods in. The sheer size of a whale’s mouth allows much small sea life to be trapped for consumption. Therefore, the baleen must be just as large and can sometimes be up to twelve feet in length. Baleen that comes from the Alaskan arctic is primarily from the bowhead whale and simply washes up onto the shore. Traditionally the Yup’ik have hunted bowhead whales for thousands of