More recent auctions

I'm afraid this blog is turning into my commentary on eBay items.



Interesting Ethiopian spearhead. I think these are more like processional staffs or badges of office; they are too delicate to be working weapons. These are selling for <$20.00.

Nice contemporary Maasai moran spear, made from truck springs. Well-made piece, no patina (they are kept bright and polished in use, anyway. Selling for <$100.00. Older ones are selling for much more.




Well-made central African spear. Shaft was cut for transport, but point still fine. Would make a great display item. Sold for <$30.00.

Problematic American Indian arrow

An eBay auction for this arrow recently ended:




The closing price was $265.00. The arrow was described as Mandan, 19th century, and as you can see, is apparently "authentic". I have my doubts.

First, I question the provenance. The Mandan were hit pretty hard by smallpox in the 19th century, and I don't think they were active in the Plains wars. If it isn't Mandan, maybe Lakota or one of the other eastern Plains groups? Maybe, but the arrow itself is questionable.

Secondly, the arrow looks modern. The point shows wear and oxidation typical of steel, not iron. Iron does not develop the scaly, flaky rust you see on a rake left out in the rain. Iron develops a nice, dark patina - you can see that on any old African iron artifact. Some of the "Buru" arrow points I have show that kind of rust, and based on that I've concluded that they're 20th century. The shaft appears to be parallel (possibly a dowel) and there's no raised nock, which would be typical. The sinew might be nylon. There's loads of it, and it looks thick and ribbon-like, whereas American Indian arrows have a minimum of fine sinew. Also, the feathers are awfully clean-cut. Older AI arrows look old and worn. The feathers might be turkey, and authentic older arrows from that region would have been fletched with raptor feathers.

It's 20th century, probably artificially aged. Actually, now that I look at it closer, it's obviously not an old arrow.

And yet it sold for $263... (or, it's fraud, and the seller was doing the bidding?) Prices for plains artifacts are seriously inflated. An authentic, older African arrow in better condition wouldn't have sold for a quarter of that. The lack of decent information is also affecting the market. If you want to research AI arrows, you need to turn to the archery literature. There are no thorough, contemporary books on AI archery. James Baldwin's book is not helpful; the Laubin's is good but not detailed; the Grayson book is too broad; etc... Mason's book is helpful but pretty brief.

At any rate, I have no intention of buying any authentic AI arrows any time soon.

Maya arrows, Yucatan

I saw these listed on eBay today:





I will update the post with the closing bid.

They are identified as South American, Amazon region, but they are definitely from southern Mexico/Guatemala. Lacandona and other Quiche speaking Maya peoples in that region make these arrows for the tourist market. The bows are made of chicle wood, but they were formally made of more substantial hardwood. They resemble other Central American and NW South American bows in that they are retangular-segment D bows. Strings are twisted inner bark (maybe bromeliad fiber? I can't remember).

Generally speaking, they resemble other SA arrows. The arrows have simple tangential fletchings. The flights and points are bound with dark-colored natural fibers, or cotton or nylon commercial string. The serving is not continuous but is typically spiraled loosely for an inch or more.

The arrows are unique in that some utilize simple retouched chert or glass flakes as points. Sets made for tourists are typically uniform length and include several chert points, barbed bodkin-type points, and one or more blunts. The wood points are often warped pretty badly from hasty curing.

I haven't seen any really good sets of Lacandon arrows. There were a couple auctioned last week; they were better quality and may have been made-for-use. The Grayson Collection has some older sets, but even those have some of the characteristics of contemporary tourist arrows. Whittaker describes a set he bought in Cancun (I think) in the 1990s in his first book, Flintknapping.

Sets are typically available at various sites on the Internet for reasonable prices. Several sizes are offered, ranging from tiny to about the correct size for actual use.

New books

It’s been a great couple of years for archery books! These books were published between 2006 and December 2008:

Poison Arrows: North American Indian Hunting and Warfare by Jones. 2006.

Traditional Bowyers Encyclopedia: 2nd Edition - Revised and Updated by Bertelan. 2007. First published in 1989.

Traditional Archery from Six Continents: The Charles E. Grayson Collection by Grayson, French & O'brien. 2007.

Bow Builder's Book by Alrune. 2007.

Mounted Archery in the Americas by Gray. 2007.

A traditional journey by Hisley & Lefemine. 2007.

North American bows, arrows, and quivers by Mason. 2007. First published in 1890s.

Arrowstorm: The World of the Archer in the Hundred Years War by Wadge. 2007.

Crossbows in the Royal Netherlands Army Museum by Sensfelder. 2007.

Ata epe: bogen und pfeile Afrikas by Wiethase. 2007.

The Guatemalan slingshot by Schloesser de Paiz & Garzon. 2007.

The Romance of Archery: A Social History of the Longbow by Soar. 2008.

Barebow!: An Archer's Fair-Chase Taking of North America's Big-Game 29 by Dunn. 2008.

Agincourt 1415: The Archers' Story by Curry. 2008.

Bow & River Gigs by Hastings. 2008.

Bow Accessories by Hubschmann. 2008.

DIY Projects for Bowhunters by Fiduccia. 2008.

Traditional Bowyer's Bible, Volume 4 by Hamm. 2008.

Plus a ton of D. C. Beard reprints, some new survival books, 2 new blowgun books, The Dangerous Book for Boys... I can't keep up with them!

I will try to review most of these in the future.

Regards,
Nathan

Introductions

I need to make something clear up front. I am interested in hunting and fishing technology. It’s a small part of my life. Other parts of my life, in order of decreasing importance are: my wife, my animals, and my education. Readers interested in my other interests are directed to our blog: http://thewolbers.blogspot.com/.

I’m a graduate student at Texas A&M University. I’m getting my Masters in wildlife and fisheries management. My research focus is on the human dimensions of wildlife management. I would like to work for a state natural resource agency or a NGO (like Ducks Unlimited). If I had to do it all over again, I would definitely get a Masters in anthropology.

Why the title? I don’t care for the word primitive, but the word has some value. I need to make a distinction between technology and the people who are using it, however. All people, for at least the last 100,000 years are so, are modern humans. There are no “primitive people.” Some people continue to live traditional lifestyles, but only their technology is primitive.

My purpose with this blog is to transfer my interest in hunting and fishing technology into a resource accessible to hobbyists, hunters, anglers, and specialists. It’s been in the back of my mind for a while now. I will review new books and magazines, report on trends in the academic study of fishing and hunting technology, describe my own small collection of bows and arrows, provide links to content on the Web, and provide my own thoughts.

Scope: I am interested in hunting and fishing technology, and stuff that’s derived from hunting and fishing technology (e.g., toys or weapons). Included are the classics (bows, arrows, spears, spearthrowers, etc) and more obscure technologies. Not included are most edged weapons (no swords or knives; too broad a subject, but I may mention African swords from time to time) and most firearms (but I will include airguns and guns I’m personally interested in).

Regards,

Nathan