Snow knife
Bone - Before 1968
Inuit snow knife made from animal bone
This is a snow knife, made of animal bone with zigzag lines carved into the handle. It was made by Inuit people in Pelly Bay or Kugaaruk, Nunavut, Canada. Pelly Bay is an Arctic waterway, but was also the name of the small Inuit town of Kugaaruk until 1999.
Snow knives were used by Inuit to cut blocks of snow to build igloos as shelter during the winter months. Igloos are surprisingly well insulated because of the air pockets in snow and can be quite warm.
Museum object number