Southern South America
Part of Hall of South American Peoples.
Part of Hall of South American Peoples.
The Yaghan (Yámana) harpoons, bark canoe model, and miniature lean-tos in this section are among the oldest public exhibits in the Museum, dating from the original South American hall, which opened in 1907.
The Yaghan (Yámana) people of Tierra del Fuego made the most of a beached whale, using its bone to make harpoons for hunting marine animals such as sea lions, seals, and dolphins, the skin for sheltering lean-tos, meat and blubber for food, and oil as ointment.