Page 127 - J. C. Turner - History and Science of Knots

116 History and Science of Knots

exists, but sinew thread with a diameter of around 1.5 mm is exceptionally
hard to break by hand. Sinew thread is sufficiently rough for relatively simple
knots to hold in it.
Inuit sinew threads may have a diameter of 1-2 mm and are often single
stranded, but thread made up of two strands has been found at Qeqertasussuk.
This remarkable composite consisted of two strands twisted in a left-handed
fashion, each of which was made of yarns, which were twisted in a right-handed
way. If this non-trivial inversion did not occur, then the thread would be less
strong. Much as an untensioned spring can be made to grip firmly onto a
rod when stretched, the alternating direction of twisting increases cohesion
between fibres.
Although no Inuit laid rope has been found so far, the Qeqertasussuk peo-
ple unambiguously show that they were aware of the principles of constructing
it. Apparently the Inuit refrained from developing this skill. At a later stage,
such as shown by the single-strand thread used for stitching in the clothing
of the Qilakitsoq mummies from approximately A.D. 1475, it appeared that
their descendants did no longer care or may even have lost that knowledge
altogether [27].
Thong

Thong is a long strip of rawhide, which is cut in a spiralling fashion from a
piece of skin. Hence its length, width and crossection depend on the skill of
the cutter. Wet thong displays an extreme surface smoothness. It follows that
knotting requires special and very secure structures, unless further precautions
are taken [3, fig. 44]. On the other hand this material is excellent to "splice".
Rawhide splices can be obtained by making a simple longitudinal slit, close
to the working end of one piece of thong, and hitching another length onto
it through a similar slit close to the working end of the other piece of thong.
Thong is strong and therefore well-suited for this method of splicing. Of all
organic materials found at archaeological sites in the Arctic, thong seems to be
among the first to perish. It follows that rawhide splices would probably not
survive in a form beyond slit thong. Also for this reason not much is known
about prehistoric Inuit rawhide splices.

Grass

Virtually nothing is known about this knotting material. I am indebted to H.
C. Gullov for telling me about an observation made by the merchant Anders
Olsen in 1764 in southern Greenland, on Inuit use of plaited deep-sea fishing
lines made of this material. The Thule Inuit plaited grass to make coiled
baskets [22, pl. 34]. As I have not yet encountered any grass knots, they will
not be discussed any further in this paper.