Bow, Arrows, And Quiver For Fishing
date: label: Accession Date
content: 7 Jan 1869
name: label: Donor Name
content: Roderick R. MacFarlane
notes: label: Notes
content: Bow: Source of the information below: Inuvialuit Pitqusiit Inuuniarutait: Inuvialuit Living History, The MacFarlane Collection website, by the Inuvialuit Cultural Resource Centre (ICRC), Inuvik, N.W.T., Canada (website credits here http://www.inuvialuitlivinghistory.ca/posts/12 ), entry on this artifact http://www.inuvialuitlivinghistory.ca/items/234 , retrieved 2-5-2020: Simple bow with sinew backing made from a single piece of wood, probably spruce. The bow stave is elliptical in cross section along its entire length. It has knob-like projections at each end for holding the bowstring, which is of braided sinew. Two braided sinew cables on the back of the bow are secured by a long piece of braided sinew wrapped in a spiral manner along most of the bow stave, and by a series of hitches at either end. This bow was collected together with several arrows and a quiver. More information on bows here: http://www.inuvialuitlivinghistory.ca/item_types/9: Bows with sinew backing were one of the most sophisticated hunting weapons of the Inuvialuit. The bow stave was often made from a single piece of spruce somewhat more than a metre in length, with a continuous piece of braided sinew laid along the back of the stave in several strands that wrapped around each end. The sinew strands were attached to the stave near each end with a series of hitches, and between these hitches the strands were twisted into two tight cables. The sinew backing added strength and elasticity to the bow. There were two main types of these bows. Simple bows when strung curve in an arc from one end to another. They were often used when hunting small animals and birds. Recurve bows are constructed so that the centre of the strung bow curves towards the archer then bends away at each end. The recurve shape together with the sinew backing made this type of bow a powerful tool for hunting large animals. Bowstrings were made from braided sinew.
label: Notes
content: Arrows: Source of the information below: Inuvialuit Pitqusiit Inuuniarutait: Inuvialuit Living History, The MacFarlane Collection website, by the Inuvialuit Cultural Resource Centre (ICRC), Inuvik, N.W.T., Canada (website credits here http://www.inuvialuitlivinghistory.ca/posts/12 ), entry on this artifact http://www.inuvialuitlivinghistory.ca/items/320 , retrieved 2-5-2020: This set of four arrows was acquired as set with a bow and a quiver. Each arrow has been fletched with trimmed feathers, and the shafts of the arrows at the fletching have marks created by staining that might have been applied to identify the owner. One of the arrows is missing its arrowhead, but the three others have blunt points, or 'bunts', made from bone or antler. The ends of these shafts have been cut to form wedge shapes, which are fitted into V-shaped openings in the bases of the bunts and secured with sinew lashing. Two of the bunts have engraved encircling lines. More information on arrows here: http://www.inuvialuitlivinghistory.ca/item_types/4: Complete arrows as well as separate arrowheads are present in the MacFarlane Collection. The arrow shafts are made from a single piece of spruce, and typically are 60 to 70 cm. long. Most have been stained with red ochre. The shafts are round in cross section, except near the notch for the bowstring where they are slightly flattened to provide a better grip for the fingers. Fleching consists of two split and trimmed feathers attached with sinew lashing. Several types of arrowheads were used, depending on the game that was hunted. Some of the ochre markings on arrow shafts may have been owner's marks, and some arrowheads are likewise marked with notches and incised lines that might have been used to identify their owner. Community Interpretations Darrel Nasogaluak: Arrowheads were meant to come off the shaft after an animal was struck. My grandfather Edgar Kotokak told me that barbs were cut into only one edge so that the head moved around inside the wound as the animal moved, increasing the chance of killing it.
label: Notes
content: Associated quiver is listed, but not described or analyzed, in Inuvialuit Pitqusiit Inuuniarutait: Inuvialuit Living History, The MacFarlane Collection website, by the Inuvialuit Cultural Resource Centre (ICRC), Inuvik, N.W.T., Canada (website credits here http://www.inuvialuitlivinghistory.ca/posts/12 ), entry on this artifact http://www.inuvialuitlivinghistory.ca/items/322 , retrieved 1-17-2020. General information on quivers here: http://www.inuvialuitlivinghistory.ca/item_types/46: Arrows were kept in skin quivers that hunters carried slung on their backs. Red ochre stain and other decorations were often added to bring luck or to give power to the hunter.
label: Record Last Modified
content: 21 Apr 2020
label: Specimen Count
content: 6
place: label: Place
content: Northwest Territories, Canada, North America
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Eskimo, Inuit, Inuvialuk (Inuvialuit)
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 69A00012
label: USNM Number
content: E7480-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Bow / Arrow / Quiver