Shark artefacts

For centuries, people around the world have caught sharks and taken their teeth and skin to make a wide variety of objects, or artefacts. Shark teeth are so sharp that early people were able to make tools and weapons from them. Shark skin is so hardwearing that it could be used to make shoes, as well as grips or sheaths for swords and daggers. Early people who caught sharks had great respect for these magnificent predators. Fishing for sharks with primitive tools was difficult and dangerous, and stories and legends about sharks were common among seafaring and island people. Sharks ware even regarded as gods and worshipped on some islands in the Pacific. In comparison, Europeans have few myths about sharks, but they did appear in natural history books.