Weaponry and Tools of the Archaic Age

California Native American IndiansHunter / Gatherer and Agriculture

Contents

• Common Tactics• Weaponry• Archaic Warriors• Comparison Between Cultures• Basketry• Final Thoughts

Common Tactics

• Bow and Arrow• Traps (Boxes, Pits)• Animal Calls• Nets• Fire• Poison

Bow and Arrow

• The simple bow, also called the self-bow or the self-backed bow, was made from a single piece of wood carved from the inner core of a branch using a sharp obsidian blade, scrapers, and "sanding tools" such as rough stone surfaces.

• A stronger bow was made by starting in the same way and then adding layers of pulverized sinew (usually from a deer's leg) to the back. The sinew was chewed, mixed with a "glue" (often made from boiled salmon heads and skin), and applied.

• Great care was taken to provide a smooth, uniform, and uncracked layer. Sinew-backed bows were usually strung with sinew (usually the sinew from a deer's backbone); while self-bows were strung with either sinew or cordage.

Indian Warrior 1,000 BC

• Hunted in Groups for Large Game or Set traps for small game.• Agriculture is present but some tribes still remain hunter/gatherer.• Weaponry remains basic with stone and some metal working.• War is unwanted and looked down upon.

(4,000 - 1,700) Metal working develops from copper to bronze to iron and spreads in concentric rings into Europe and Asia; alphabetical languages develop; Classic empires of Greece, Alexander, and Rome come and pass.

(2,000 - 1,000) A succession of increasingly rich cultures develop from Peru north to Colorado, including Incas, Mayas, Toltecas, Aztecs, and Anasazis. These are characterized by agriculture, great civic buildings, social complexity, some metal working, and incipient glyphic languages. The Mississippi life-way develops in Southern US.

Technological AdvancementTechnological Advancement

Greek Warrior1,000 BC

• Bronze Armor and artistic armor / shields.

• War / Battle is a “proving ground.” for glory.

• Weapons are designed for human combat – not hunting.

Basketry

• Cahuilla only made coiled baskets that coiled out in a counterclockwise manner when looking at the bottom of the basket.

• The basket consisted of filler, the bundle, and the material used to sew the filler to the basket with, the splint.

• The actual process of weaving a basket can range from a few hours to a few months.

Basketry

• Baskets by the Cahuilla were commonly made from deer grass.

• Basket making becomes a useful tool during the Archaic Period (11,000 to 4,000 BP).

Photos by Edward Curtis

That’s All Folks

• Native Americans used weaponry as tools. not only as instruments for war.

• Life was far different in North America than it was in Europe.

• Indian’s focused on a religion sided with nature.

• War and Peace

Citations1. Calhoun, Crede. “A Brief History of Native American Development

The Bow, The Clay Pot, and Agriculture.” Nov. 2003. Deep Creek Times. 1 June 2010. http://www.deepcreektimes.com/kids/november2003.html

2. Mails, Thomas E. "The Mystic Warriors of the Plains: The culture, arts, crafts and religion of the Plains Indians." September 3, 2007. SNOWWOWL.COM. 1 June 2010.

http://www.snowwowl.com/histplainsindianshields1.html http://www.snowwowl.com/images/baskets/adobe4.jpg http://www.snowwowl.com/histecurtis6.html

http://www.snowwowl.com/histecurtis7.html3. Beckman, Tad. “APPENDIX B: RESEARCH IN CALIFORNIA.” 1998. Harvey Mudd College. 1 June 2010.

http://www4.hmc.edu:8001/humanities/indian/ca/Ch02.htmhttp://www4.hmc.edu:8001/humanities/indian/basketry/Cahuilla.html

4. Lowell, John Bean. Mukat's People: The Cahuilla Indian's of Southern California. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. First Paperback Edition. 1974.

5. Lysippides Painter: Amphora (56.171.14)". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/56.171.14 (June 2010) Source: Attributed to the manner of the Lysippides Painter: Amphora (56.171.14) | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

6. “Porky Pig” .Gasolinealleyantiques. 1 June 2010. http://www.gasolinealleyantiques.com/cartoon/images/Warner/dell-chief.JPG7. “Spear heads.” 2000. Illinois State Museum. 1 June 2010.

http://www.museum.state.il.us/muslink/nat_amer/pre/htmls/archaic.html8. Schwegman, John E . “Kincaid Mounds A Prehistoric Cultural and Religious Center In Southern Illinois.” The Kincaid Mounds. 1

June 2010. http://www.kincaidmounds.com/history.htm9. “Deer Grass.” 2009. Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians. 1 June 2010.

http://www.pechanga-nsn.gov/page?pageId=427