A simple harpoon from the Sahel area

Here's one of the handful of primitive weapons I've purchased somewhere other than eBay, and one of my two harpoons. I will describe the other tomorrow. I bought this from a guy selling African pieces at a flea market in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This particular harpoon, said to be from Niger and certainly from the Sahel region, is probably not the greatest quality, but it's definitely made for use and shows a great deal of ingenuity and resourcefulness. I have not been able to find any similar pieces in the American Museum of Natural History or Pitt Rivers Museum archives. Compare it to the nice, darkly patinated piece below:

The harpoon is thick and sturdy-looking. I'd use it. I wonder what it was intended for...there are some pretty big fish in African rivers, as well as hippos, crocs, manatees - but I'd conservatively assume it was intended for large fish.

Overall, the point is crude but functional. The piece is reddish-colored with light rust and caked-on dirt. The large barbs are cut with a chisel (they're cut out, not lifted off) and bent outward slightly. The point is weakened by the large barbs, which leave a narrow waist that wold be prone to bending (a lot of harpoons, especially whaling harpoons, were designed to bend into pretzels, like the Roman pilum). The socket is roughly-made, with a large hole for bolting the point to a shaft or for attaching a tether. There's probably some use-wear and resharpening.

Length (overall): About 10".

Length (blades/points): About 7 1/2".

Length (other dimensions): Socket is about 2 1/2".

Width at widest point (blade/point): About 2 1/2" if bent tips were repaired.

Width (other dimensions): Socket is about 5/8" wide.

Materials: Probably scrap iron. My impression is that the piece was made from a flat piece of steel cut into shape, with the base shaped into a socket and the tip trimmed into shape.

An ornate processional spear from West Africa

This is an interesting item. It's a very basic socketed spear blade, at first appearance more closely resembling a cake server than a weapon. There's no edge per se (it's either deliberately blunted or unfinished), the barbing on the shank is shallow or possibly unfinished, and the socket is rough and fairly crude. The appearance of the piece is enhanced by extensive engraving on both faces of the blade. I believe this is a legitimate ceremonial or processional item, used as a mark of authority or for ritual purposes. It's from West Africa; I imagine it's from Mali or Burkina Faso. If it's from Mali, it might be Dogon. That's just a guess. The engraving vaguely resembles the decorative markings on a couple of West African arrow points in my collection. Unfortunately, I doubt the markings will be visible in the photos.

The spear head is heavy, with a rough, unfinished appearance. It's made from a single piece of steel drawn into a wide willow-leaf shape, with a short shank and a short, crude socket. A series of shallow barbs is present on alternating edges of the square-sectioned shank. Barbs were struck into the material with a chisel. The barbs are not deep and appear to have been filed down somewhat. There's no median ridge (the blade is essentially flat), and point is either blunted, unfinished or kept blunt intentionally.

Overall, the point is crude and heavy. Several forging flaws. Some patina and minimal rust is evident. The tip is bent, but otherwise the point appears unused.

Length (overall): About 13 1/2" overall.

Length (blades/points): About 8".

Length (other dimensions): Shank is about 3". Socket is about 2 1/4".

Width at widest point (blade/point): About 2".

Width (other dimensions): Socket is 1" wide.

Materials: Probably scrap iron.

I have a few other Western Sahel pieces (mostly arrow points). Will be describing them at some point. This piece deserves more attention, so I'll probably revisit it before too long.