The carving or engraving of bone, tusks, and teeth is called scrimshaw. Scrimshaw is more commonly known as a sailor's art, the carving of images on whale bone or teeth. Detailed and sometimes magnificent pictures of the ship, or the people therein can be found. Sometimes the art was brought to life by rubbing ink or tobacco juice into the carved grooves to generate color. Scrimshaw from whale teeth and bones is now illegal in this country (USA) but the whale art created before 1989 may still be legally traded.
Like with ivory from elephant tusks, there is something in me that is uneasy about scrimshaw. There is a useful truth, though, that the code to the genetic identity of the whale is imbedded in the molecules of tissue, especially in the inner cavities of the teeth, which hold blood cells. We can discover what was this species? Who was this individual? Each bit of scrimshaw contains a key to a whale who once coursed the seas.
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