This small atlatl was acquired in 1999 from Dale Cross, a Native American from Kentucky who collected North American artifacts and did consulting work for the Smithsonian Institution. The atlatl is made out of a large mammal bone. It was originally collected in a Camp Fire Pit in Alaska. The bone material is not ossified, so it is probably not older than a couple hundred years. It is also in very nice condition. There are collection I.D. numbers and notes written on the atlatl in black ink. I have no information on the location of the camp fire pit or when it was recovered. This atlatl is also small, so I am not sure if it interfaced with another segment or if it is a tool used to make nets, or maybe both? The hook could be used for either weaving a net or fitting into the base of an atlatl dart.