102
triacylglycerols and esters of unsaturated fatty acids—i.e. the fatty acids containing
one or more C=C double bonds.
The oil in whale bones plays an important ecological role, especially for
deep- sea fauna because the long-lasting skeletons of cetaceans serve as a primary
source of lipids for these unique communities. For example, the sipunculan worms
Phascolosoma saprophagicum use the whale bones directly for food (Gibbs 1987 ).
Some polychaete worms like Osedax sp . destroy the bone matrix to obtain nutrition,
aided by endosymbiotic heterotrophic bacteria (Rouse et al. 2004 ; Higgs et al.
2011b ). Thus, whale skeletal carcasses may have played signifi cant roles in maintaining deep-sea diversity and facilitating adaptive radiations of highly specialized
fauna on the ocean bottom.
3.1.2 Whale Bone Hause
Intriguingly, the whale bone plays very special, but important role in human
architecture, culture and engineering from ancient time. Petillon ( 2008 ) recently
reported some artefacts related to Paleolithic people in Western Europe, which
confi rm the technical exploitation of whale bone for producing weapons and tools.
As summarized by Betts ( 2007 ):
“Bowhead bone, in particular, was used as a raw material in the manufacture of
essential items, such as architectural superstructures, construction (i.e., digging)
implements, transportation components, and hunting equipment. Bone was also
used extensively in the production of domestic utensils and fi gured prominently in
the manufacture of ritual paraphernalia,” (Betts 2007 ).
Whale bone houses are found in association with a number of prehistoric and
historic cultures throughout much of the coastal regions of eastern Siberia, Alaska,
Arctic Canada and Greenland. In the case of the Canadian Arctic, archaeologists
Fig. 3.4 Oil that has run
down the surfaces of two
minke whale rib (Image
courtesy of Gordon
Turner-Walker, The
University Museum of
Bergen – Natural History
Collections (Turner-Walker
2012 ))
3 Biocomposites and Mineralized Tissues
triacylglycerols and esters of unsaturated fatty acids—i.e. the fatty acids containing
one or more C=C double bonds.
The oil in whale bones plays an important ecological role, especially for
deep- sea fauna because the long-lasting skeletons of cetaceans serve as a primary
source of lipids for these unique communities. For example, the sipunculan worms
Phascolosoma saprophagicum use the whale bones directly for food (Gibbs 1987 ).
Some polychaete worms like Osedax sp . destroy the bone matrix to obtain nutrition,
aided by endosymbiotic heterotrophic bacteria (Rouse et al. 2004 ; Higgs et al.
2011b ). Thus, whale skeletal carcasses may have played signifi cant roles in maintaining deep-sea diversity and facilitating adaptive radiations of highly specialized
fauna on the ocean bottom.
3.1.2 Whale Bone Hause
Intriguingly, the whale bone plays very special, but important role in human
architecture, culture and engineering from ancient time. Petillon ( 2008 ) recently
reported some artefacts related to Paleolithic people in Western Europe, which
confi rm the technical exploitation of whale bone for producing weapons and tools.
As summarized by Betts ( 2007 ):
“Bowhead bone, in particular, was used as a raw material in the manufacture of
essential items, such as architectural superstructures, construction (i.e., digging)
implements, transportation components, and hunting equipment. Bone was also
used extensively in the production of domestic utensils and fi gured prominently in
the manufacture of ritual paraphernalia,” (Betts 2007 ).
Whale bone houses are found in association with a number of prehistoric and
historic cultures throughout much of the coastal regions of eastern Siberia, Alaska,
Arctic Canada and Greenland. In the case of the Canadian Arctic, archaeologists
Fig. 3.4 Oil that has run
down the surfaces of two
minke whale rib (Image
courtesy of Gordon
Turner-Walker, The
University Museum of
Bergen – Natural History
Collections (Turner-Walker
2012 ))
3 Biocomposites and Mineralized Tissues