POLISHED WALRUS OOSIK. ...

Description

POLISHED WALRUS OOSIK
Odobenus rosmarus
Alaska
One significant way in which the human male differs from other mammals is his lack of a baculum, or penile bone. It has been theorized that this is an evolutionary development to aid in the reproductive females' selection process (insufficient blood pressure adequately to maintain an erection may indicate health problems such as diabetes, neurological disorders or even stress and depression - undesirable attributes in a potential mate). More whimsically, the bone is sometimes identified with the rib of Adam from which Eve was created: the Hebrew word translated as "rib" is far less specific than the English, and in addition there is no official Hebrew word for "penis". Most other mammals possess this bone, however, and in the Inuit cultures of North America and Greenland those of the walrus, seal and polar bear are frequently polished and used as clubs, knife handles, ritual objects, tools, or as unusual souvenirs to sell to the wide-eyed tourist. This is a fine example from a Northern Pacific Walrus, highly polished but retaining the finely honeycombed bone structure at either end, with an attractively creamy-gray mottled patina and measuring 19½ inches long.

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