Archaeologica.org

With all do respect to our old friend, Ish, referenced in the headline…
How do you find out what kind of locally produced poison will kill a whale with in a few days?

http://community.adn.com/adn/node/157287

Spiritually aside, they came up with a technique that worked, on a pound vs. pound basis, in one of the most remote places on the planet.

Has anyone looked for poison evidence at any of the mammoth sites further south?

http://www.washacadsci.org/Journal/Jour ... Heizer.pdf
No mention of shamen , intersting that "essentially loner shamen" later in the article became "whaler shamen " at least the petroglyphys were given , surprisingly , a good luck /hunting interpretation .

George

Aren’t DNA tests being done on killed for meat remains?

Can a DNA test detect poison?

I can't see Ish ever throwing a harpoon at a whale. She's just not the type.

kbs2244 wrote:Aren’t DNA tests being done on killed for meat remains?

Can a DNA test detect poison?

Surely the poison , like all poisons used for hunting , leaves no trace after a short time , otherwise you wouldn't be able to eat it .

George

I find this very difficult to accept. The amount of poison needed to kill a large whale would seem to be way above that which could be smeared on to a spear/lance/harpoon.

Roy.

Digit wrote:I find this very difficult to accept. The amount of poison needed to kill a large whale would seem to be way above that which could be smeared on to a spear/lance/harpoon.

Roy.

Amber Johnson in http://books.google.com/books/about/Pro ... xOYiOizkEC pps 155-158
considers that 2g is enough for a Bowhead whale & 1.5 g for a Humpback when crystal aconitine which is insoluble in water is used .

George

Fair enough George, but the link suggests a very long time before it dies, by which time it could be miles away, and in deep waters!

Roy.

Can a DNA test detect poison?

A DNA test will perform an analysis on deoxyribonucleic acid, not toxins. However, a toxins test would find traces of any poison. But ... toxins break down in the body quickly due to enzymatic activity and there wouldn't be enough time for any traces to be left in the teeth or bones before death.

A whale being a mammal, and a smart one at that, Ish would stick to fish instead.

The video refers to the “monks hood” (Aconitum) plant as the source of the poison.

According to Wikipedia it is one of the poisons that attacks the nervous system and, in effect, paralyze to the point of stopping breathing or the heart beating.
It’s use seems to be pretty widespread from Nepal east through China and Japan.
(And from there to the Artic?)

I don’t know if it travels via the nervous system or the blood system, but some are supposed to work within minutes on a human sized target.

I would guess something like that would not get into the meat.
You may have to careful in the bleeding and butchering process though!

Don’t the Amazon Indianans use poison arrows when hunting?

A whale being a mammal, and a smart one at that, Ish would stick to fish instead.

Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day.

Teach a man to fish and he'll eat forever.

Give a man religion and he'll starve to death praying for a fish.


Me? I'll go to a seafood restaurant.

Thus spake the God Min!

Roy.

To my p-o-v God would be a wine steward.

I don't know what your American wines taste like Min but I have to confess to a complete dislike of the French P***.
I find them thin, acid, and lacking in flavour.

Roy.

I find most domestic wines fit only to dump on fires.

I like French and Italian (mainly northern Italian) reds.