Fish Spear - St. Johns/Santa Clara Shipwreck3D Model
Fish Spear - St. Johns/Santa Clara Shipwreck
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More model informationAn iron fish spear found on the shipwrecked 1564 galleon Santa Clara still bears the calcareous encrustation that formed on it while underwater. This device gives us a peek into how people ate while at sea centuries ago: Refrigeration was non-existent at the time, so the only way to eat fresh meat in mid-ocean was to butcher livestock carried on board, or to catch fish. This five-pronged spear (one is missing) would have mounted on a wooden shaft tied to a line. Like a harpoon, the spear was thrown into the water to impale fish swimming alongside the ship. Similar examples have been found on many other Spanish colonial-era shipwrecks, indicating they were fairly standard equipment at the time.
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