Sharks The Animal Answer Guide

208 Sharks: The Animal Answer Guide

Japanese female entertainers (geishas) used crushed Tiger Shark teeth to

produce the white pigment with which they painted their faces.

Shark teeth were a valued trade item among Native Americans. Shark

tooth artifacts have been found in the 700- to 1,000-year-old Cahokia

mounds across the Mississippi River from what is now St. Louis, Mis-

souri—more than 1,000 km (620 miles) from the ocean. Such objects have

also been found in Ohio burial mounds dating back 1,700 to 2,100 years

ago, as well as in sites as old as 4,000 years in northeastern U.S. coastal

states and the maritime provinces of Canada. Native Americans used both

fossilized and recent (nonfossilized) shark teeth and vertebrae as tools and

especially as ornamental items. The teeth and vertebrae often had holes

drilled in them, suggesting they were strung on necklaces or hafted (at-

tached) on wooden clubs, spears, or paddles. The burial sites are typical of

those of clan leaders, and the inclusion of shark parts attests to their value

as traded objects. Anthropologists call such objects “prestige goods.” Items

from distant locales made from exotic materials such as marine shells, cop-

per, nonlocal flint, or shark parts increased the status of the owner. And,

after all, life is really about one’s image.

What roles do sharks play in popular culture?

Sharks are everywhere nowadays. They turn up in movies, TV shows,

books, cartoons, music, video games, license plates, weather vanes and

windsocks, boat buoys, postage stamps, pinball machines, T-shirts (we have

dozens, some of the best found at http://www.trollart.com), wallets and purses,

towels, stuffed animals, Halloween masks, refrigerator magnets, doormats,

house signs, and beer brands. All attest to their popularity with the public.

Useful shark’s teeth. (Left) Actual wooden weapons studded with shark’s teeth, from the Gilbert Islands in the Repub-
lic of Kiribati. (Right) A modified Carcharocles megalodon fossil tooth offered for sale on eBay. The description claimed
that it was the “Oldest Tool Made by Humans in North America—Megalodon 20 , 000 Year Old Spear Tip.” Asking
price: $ 995 , 000. Left, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Shark-tooth_weapons.jpg; right, eBay item 140511853253

http://www.ebook3000.com