Bow & Arrow
date: label: Accession Date
content: 18 May 1865
name: label: Donor Name
content: Roderick R. MacFarlane
notes: label: Notes
content: FROM CARD: "#1106-ILLUS. IN SMITHSONIAN REPT, 1893; PL. 57,. FIG. 4; P. 679 (1 ARROW)." FROM CONDITION REPORT FOR NMNH EXHIBIT HALL 9 TAKEDOWN (C. VALENTOUR 3/98): "SHAPED WOODEN BOW W/ KNOBS AT EACH END LASHED W/ TWISTED SINEW BOW STRING. TWISTED & PLAITED SINEW RUNNING ALONG OUTSIDE OF BOW. RAWHIDE STRIP LASHED AT CENTER OF BOW."
label: Notes
content: Though originally catalogued as a bow and arrows, as of 2005 there are 20 arrows, a sinew cable-backed bow, and a quiver/bow case with this catalogue number.
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/183 , retrieved 12-10-2019: Sinew-backed recurve bow made from a single piece of wood, probably spruce, part of a set that also includes a quiver and arrows. The bow stave is thickest in cross-section at the middle and at the lateral bends where greatest forces are applied, and flattened at other points along its length. It has knob-like projections at each end for holding the bowstring, which is of braided sinew. The braided sinew backing is attached to the back of the bow by a series of hitches at each of the lateral bends, and with a hide thong at the mid-point where there is a piece of hide between the backing and the stave that would have prevented the backing from slipping. More information 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/318 , retrieved 12-10-2019: This is a set of seventeen arrows that was acquired together with a bow. Some of the arrows have arrowheads with tangs that are inserted into the end of the shaft and bound with sinew lashings, and there is also evidence that pitch was used to hold the arrowheads in place. These include arrowheads made of bone with barbs along one edge only, some of which have metal tips attached at their ends, and iron arrowheads with a row of barbs along each edge. Other arrows are tipped with 'bunts', or blunt arrowheads made from antler and iron that were used for stunning birds. The antler bunts have a V-shaped notch at their base into which the corresponding arrow shaft has been inserted. These arrows all have split and trimmed goose and rough legged hawk feathers attached as fletching. More information 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: Quiver: This object 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/321 , retrieved 1-17-2020.
label: Record Last Modified
content: 23 Jul 2025
label: Specimen Count
content: 22
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: 65A00065
label: USNM Number
content: E1106-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Bow / Arrow / Quiver / Bow Case
physicalDescription: label: Length - Object
content: 119 cm