Ulu

One of the more intriguing stone artifacts from Jamestown was recovered from a 17th century context, deposited in the Fort’s second well along with other material after the well was no longer used. Though incomplete, the general crescent shape and manufacturing characteristics suggest that this is an ulu. Ulus are semi-lunar knives that are typically associated with Inuit groups in the Artic, though they do appear in the Mid-Atlantic during the Archaic period. In fact, several ulus have been recovered from archaeological sites in eastern Virginia, including the Dismal Swamp and Tidewater regions. Of those, at least four others have a hole drilled through them. This hole would have been used to haft, or attach, a handle to the blade. Though not all ulus have the same attachment method.

In the Artic, ulus were primarily used by women to process fish, though they would also be used for other tasks. While they were made of a number of materials, ground and polished slate is the most common. It is hypothesized that slate was more efficient at cutting and could be easily re-sharpened when compared to typical chipped stone tools, as well as easy to clean! Though unclear whether or not the presence of ulus in the northeast and Mid-Atlantic is a case of cultural transmission between groups or parallel invention, it is one of our favorite artifacts to highlight the innovation that indigenous peoples of North America displayed in so many aspects of their daily lives. It is also a great way to show that artifacts found in 17th century contexts can tell much bigger stories than we may at first consider.