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Eel trap
Object Number 17-16-10/87069
Display Title Eel trap
Descriptions
Object Description A Wampanoag artist constructed this narrow-necked eel trap using flat wood strips and plant fiber strips in the late nineteenth century. When the trap is submerged, eels swim into the trap attracted by bait but because of the shape, they cannot find their way out. Eels have long been a mainstay of the Wampanoag diet, and documents indicate that eels were possibly served at the “First Thanksgiving.”
Inventory Description Eel trap, cylindrical, wood slats bound w/ fiber, lid at one end, perf. basket i
Classification
  • Trap
Department Ethnographic
Date late 19th Century
Culture
  • Algonquian
  • Mashpee
Geography/Provenience/Site Name
North America / United States / Massachusetts / Barnstable County / Barnstable
Materials Wood, Vegetable fiber
Dimensions Overall: 116.5 x 24 x 24 cm (45 7/8 x 9 7/16 x 9 7/16 in.)
Quantity 1
Label on object 87069
Credit Line Gift of Dr. Lombard C. Jones, 1917
Provenance
Collector Dr. Lombard C. Jones (1892)
Donor Dr. Lombard C. Jones (1917)

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