Bow Wrapped With Cord
date: label: Accession Date
content: 1 Nov 1878
name: label: Donor Name
content: Edward W. Nelson
notes: label: Notes
content: FROM CARD: "ILLUS. IN BAE 18TH AR, PT. 1; PL. LX-8; P. 155."
label: Notes
content: Source of the information below: Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center Alaska Native Collections: Sharing Knowledge website, by Aron Crowell, entry on this artifact https://alaska.si.edu/record.asp?id=69 , retrieved 11-3-2021; see web page for additional information: Bow, Yup'ik. Until guns became widely available, men (and women) used bows and arrows for hunting. This type of sinew-lashed, double-curved bow is much more powerful than the plain wooden type. Deadly warfare with bows and arrows, and the agility of fighters in dodging arrows, is recounted in many Yup'ik stories. Bows were used for hunting on both land and sea, and for warfare. They were gradually replaced by guns during the late 19th century. There were two basic types-the simple wooden bow and the Siberian style sinew-backed bow, which bent backwards when pulled and was much stronger. On land, caribou were the main targets for bow and arrow hunters, who stalked them on the open tundra or caught them in snares. Wolves, bears, muskrats, and birds were also shot with various types of arrows, and bows were carried in kayaks for taking seabirds and seals. Bow and arrow warfare was widespread in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta at the time of historic contact, and many stories about it have been preserved. According to oral tradition, the wars began when one boy accidentally blinded another with a dart and relatives on both sides began a deadly cycle of revenge.
label: Record Last Modified
content: 3 Nov 2021
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: Pastolik, Yukon River, Mouth, Alaska, United States, North America
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Eskimo, Yup'ik
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 78A00080
label: USNM Number
content: E33884-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Bow
physicalDescription: label: Length - Object
content: 125 cm