Bow And Arrows
date: label: Accession Date
content: 15 Jan 1892
name: label: Donor Name
content: U.S. Geological Survey
notes: label: Notes
content: FROM CARD: "BOW, PLAIN, ROUGH; CORD OF SINEW. ARROWS RUDELY FINISHED: 2 WITH DOUBLE POINTS, 2 WITH SINGLE POINTS - ONE OF IRON. *IDENTIFIED AS "KUTCHIN" BY CORNELIUS OSGOOD, SEPT., 1970, SOLELY ON BASIS OF INDEX ENTRY "TINNE, PORCUPINE R., PROF. I. C. RUSSEL."
label: Notes
content: Bow is # 1 of 4 with this catalogue number. Two of the three arrows with this number, #2 of 4, and #3 of 4, are illustrated, under the numbers E178645A and B, in Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center Alaska Native Collections: Sharing Knowledge website, by Aron Crowell; entries on the arrows are http://alaska.si.edu/record.asp?id=277, and http://alaska.si.edu/record.asp?id=278 , retrieved 8-27-2012, which is the source of the information below: iron tipped arrow, # 2 of 4 or A: This iron-tipped Gwich'in arrow would have been used for large game including caribou and moose. It is fletched with hawk feathers. Elder Trimble Gilbert, Gwich'in, described how to finish an arrow by shaving small amounts of wood off one side of the shaft or another with a sharp knife until it flies in a straight line. Being able to craft a well-balanced bow complete with straight arrows was an essential skill for a hunter. arrow with double-headed bone point, # 3 of 4 or B (arrow # 4 of 4 is similar): Hunters used arrows with double-headed bone points to shoot ducks and other waterfowl. The bone ends were forced apart when the arrow hit, clamping into the wound. An arrow that missed its target floated vertically in the water until it could be retrieved. This Gwich'in duck arrow is fletched with black raven feathers.
label: Notes
content: This object is on loan to the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, from 2010 through 2027. Only 2 arrows of the 3 inventoried are on loan; arrows # 2 of 4 (also called A) and # 3 of 4 (also called B) are on loan; arrow # 4 of 4 and bow are not on loan.
label: Record Last Modified
content: 10 Feb 2022
label: Specimen Count
content: 4
place: label: Place
content: Porcupine River, Alaska, United States, North America
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Kutchin (Gwich'in, Dihjii Zhuh)
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 025293
label: USNM Number
content: E178645-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Bow / Arrow
physicalDescription: label: Length - Arrow # 2 Of 4
content: 73.2 cm
label: Length - Arrow # 3 Of 4
content: 77.5 cm
label: Length - Arrow # 4 Of 4
content: 82.4 cm