Arrow

Item number Nb661 from the MOA: University of British Columbia.

Public

Item Records

This page shows all the information we have about this item. Both the institution that physically holds this item, and RRN members have contributed the knowledge on this page. You’re looking at the item record provided by the holding institution. If you scroll further down the page, you’ll see the information from RRN members, and can share your own knowledge too.

The RRN processes the information it receives from each institution to make it more readable and easier to search. If you’re doing in-depth research on this item, be sure to take a look at the Data Source tab to see the information exactly as it was provided by the institution.

These records are easy to share because each has a unique web address. You can copy and paste the location from your browser’s address bar into an email, word document, or chat message to share this item with others.

Data
Data Source

This information was automatically generated from data provided by MOA: University of British Columbia. It has been standardized to aid in finding and grouping information within the RRN. Accuracy and meaning should be verified from the Data Source tab.

Description

Arrow consisting of a long cylindrical wooden shaft with one notched end and a metal point at the other, secured with wrapped sinew. The triangular point has a double notched base and a narrow stem. At the midpoint of the metal stem has an oval hole. String is tied around stem where stem enters the shaft. At opposite end of shaft are two strips of feather secured by wrapped sinew. Red pigment, possibly ochre, is present on the basal end. The basal end of the shaft is notched.

History Of Use

The bow was used as the primary weapon for hunting land animals. Arrows were specialized for hunting animals or birds. Arrows used for bird hunting had "a hardwood knob or a fiber wrapping at the end of the shaft (Barnett 1955:102)." While a very common shape for other types of arrows was a " point [that] was five or six inches long. Both for hunting and warfare, it was set into a slot in the blunt, untapered end of the shaft in such a way that, when the victim was pierced, the shaft dropped off and the point remained in the wound (1955:102)." Wilson Duff reports that arrows of bone and ground stone were used by the Sto:lo for hunting, while those of chipped stone were used for war. He adds that the war point were sometimes poisoned by dipping them in the human brain (see 1952:59).

Cultural Context

hunting; warfare

Narrative

This arrow was found in a shell heap near New Westminster, with four others, probably between 1920-1927.

Specific Techniques

Wilson Duff reported that the Sto:lo made arrows from serviceberry wood, and that "some persons used small round sprouts, but deer hunters used larger and tougher stems split into four and rounded. The point of the arrow was charred and sharpened, and this sufficed for a point in most cases. Sometimes, however, points were made of ground slate...[also] of bone, ground stone, and chipped stone... Arrows were feathered with the whole tail feathers of mallard ducks or woodpeckers. Two feathers were used, laid on tangentially opposite each other. The feather was laid on the arrow, quill-end toward the butt, and the end of the vane was tied to the arrow with deer sinew. The quill-end was brought forward and tied down forward of the previous lashing. Sometimes it was given a half-twist to impart a rotary motion to the arrow in flight" (from The Upper Stalo Indians. 1952:59).