Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Announcements => Topic started by: billy on July 01, 2009, 11:48:40 am
-
I wanted to let everyone know of an incredibly rare opportunity that Primitive Archer will be presenting to the world beginning early next year. I will be submitting a 6-part series of articles that will span an entire year and will feature REAL, AUTHENTIC Native American bows and arrows housed in the collections of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. Less than 1% of the Smithsonian's artifacts are on display...the vast majority are in storage. And that's where I'm going...into their collections...into the Holy Grail to examine, photograph, and measure these priceless artifacts. The Smithsonian VERY RARELY grants permission for these photos to be published because they provide their own photos, but their photos lack close-up detail. What makes this special is that they have granted me the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to publish my own photographs, just this once, in the magazine of my choice. And they will be featured in Primitive Archer.
This series of articles will be titled Treasures of the Smithsonian, and will begin in the Southeastern U.S. with Creek and Cherokee bows and arrows (and quivers if available). Then each successive article will move farther westward, highlighting a different tribe and their weapons, finally ending with the beautifully painted paddle bows of northern California. Most of these weapons have never before been seen by the public. This article will have numerous close-up photos of bows and arrows, and will be taken by a primitive archer, for primitive archers. Some of these weapons were collected before the California gold rush of 1849, when wild stone-age Indians still lived in the United States. Most of these weapons have never before been seen by the public, and this your chance to see the real deal.
There has never been anything like this published ANYWHERE, and Primitive Archer is breaking new ground here. For those of you who don't have a subscription, I suggest you get one. If you know anyone who has always wanted to see what real Indian bows look like, I suggest you tell them to subscribe. If there was one year out of all others to get a subscription to Primitive Archer, then this would be it. Primitive Archer will become much more than a magazine...it will become an encyclopedia of information and details that is unprecedented. Primitive Archer will be bringing the most prestigious archaeological institute to your doorstep...I suggest you get on board and subscribe.
-
Billy, This is very exciting and cool news. Good for you for the effort you are putting into this and the effort you will be putting in to make this series a reality. Thanks for your efforts and for allowing PA to have the exclusive on these artifacts.
-
WOW!!! This is awesome news, and I really look forward to your series of articles.
-
Looking forward to seeing it.
-
Wow... :o
You sure there's enough space in the magazine? If it were me taking the pictures we would need a separate issue for each bow, arrow and quiver!
Make sure you weigh everything (if possible)!!! There are no sources that mention the weights of the artifacts....and it's frustrating when you're missing information like that when trying to reverse engineer the stuff.
Here's an example of info from the AMNH site:
BOW, SINEW-BACKED
NORTH AMERICAN ETHNOGRAPHIC COLLECTION
Catalog No: 50 / 8432
Culture: APACHE, JICARILLA
Locale: NM
Regions: BASIN, PLAINS, SOUTHWEST
Country: USA
Material: WOOD, SINEW
Dimensions: L:106 W:3 H:2.5 [in CM]
Accession No: 1909-57
Donor: GODDARD, PLINY E., DR.
Missing info:
Weight!
Five (5) views: Belly, side 1, Side 2, Back and Top (look down the bow)...not just a side view!
Cross Sectional Dimensions for every 2" increment of length...or whatever is needed to fully understand the shape!
Greasy finish? Sticky? Smooth???
Any photos taken of the bow when it was originally found? Any accompanying drawings?
And last but not least....LIST AND INFO OF OTHER ITEMS IT WAS FOUND WITH!
Billy, thanks for your effort. We are all looking forward to the info....so don't screw it up!! (no pressure.... ;D)
-
Hey Pat,
A lot of these bows and arrows were either collected or donated to the museum. Back then, record keeping wasn't as important as it is today, so you end up with very vague (and sometimes incorrect) information. Photographs of the artifacts when they were collected would require going into the photo archives (which I won't have the time to do).
Some info I will give is : acquisition date, length, width, and material construction (if available). I will also have close-up photos of bow nocks, arrow fletching, points, and decoration. Photos will have a ruler so accurate dimensions can be determined. I will also give cross-section drawings of the bows at handle, midlimb, and tips. I doubt that I'll have the time to weigh all these artifacts. Some items (like arrows) are often secured to foam holders and I can't go freeing every one of them just to weigh them...and I don't think that would be kosher with the staff. Plus, I'll only have 2 days to conduct this research so time definitely is not on my side. I'll obtain as much info as I can in the short time I'll be up there, and of course pass it on to you.
-
Yer one lucky dude Billy, hope you can get some pics of NA's bows and arrows from my area here in Upper Michigan,
specifically Potawatomie(Spelling) and Chippewa. Looking forward to the articles and I'm sure you will do a great job :)
-
Billy, that is exciting news, way to go. I'm looking forward to seeing the articles.
-
Drat...time always has a way of sneaking into the equation. Two days is better than no days, though! Can't wait. :)
-
Billy...I was just thinking.....maybe you could do a "how to" on getting access to museum archives? There are lots of museums near me but I have no idea on how to begin the process of gaining access to their collections. Is there a secret? (other than a student ID card?)
-
you the man!!!!
-
That'll be interesting billy! looking forward to it...
-
Thats a good news! I think I`ll try an Abo when the series is coming. When will it beexactly?
Regards Uwe
-
Found this link, but I bet you get better photos then this.
http://www.americanindian.si.edu/searchcollections/results.aspx?&catids=0&objtypeid=Hunting%2fFishing%2fWarfare|Bow&src=1-4
-
That is fantastic Billy. A truly wonderful opportunity. I can't wait to see the articles, wish I could go to.
Allen Minton
-
The articles will probably begin early next year...Jan or Feb I'm assuming, but it all depends on when I can get all the manuscript work done and accompanying captions for the photos. Holy smokes, I'm looking at this and it's gonna be a HUGE undertaking..... I hope I didn't bite off more than I can chew!!
-
that rocks brother.... looking forward to your articles as usual... keep us posted... Hawk
-
I rattle my tongue for this! I've been applying for jobs since March 7 with no luck, & even the temp service hasn't had much come in, but as soon as I get some income (now down to $30 total cash & nothing I can sell but my museum-quality custom mocassins, which haven't been selling much, darn it!), I'll subscribe so I can have these articles, too, & I'll see if I can get the local library to take a subscription. Since the museums began robbing us of our artifacts & stashing them back when they convinced themselves that we would go extinct (partly with their 'help', by taking Sacred Bundles, Channunpas (prayer Pipes, which are not 'art objects', & so on), such things as truly old bows & arrows have also been withheld from us. The Cheyenne hold arrows to be Sacred, so a word to the wise.. before you photograph any bows or arrows, offer tobacco to the spirits with a prayer of thanks & for their forebearance about photographs at all. Kodak wasn't kidding, from our Traditional perspective, when they advertised "capture the spirit". It's about showing respect, & believe me, the spirits know more about the purity of everyone's heart's intentions than any of us ever will. Mitakuye oiasin - All (are) my relatives.
-
Thank You.
I've been eonting to see something like that for years. I use to go to the school library and look trough National Graphic magizen just to see if i could find pictures or stories about such thanks.
Once again thank you for m favorite magazine.
The Thinnker
-
This is fantastic Billy, i always enjoy your articles. i will be interested to see if they have anything on the northern plains tribes: Mandan, Arikara, and Hidatsa. looking forward to it!
-
Hey Gopher,
The only northern plains tribe I covered was Sioux. They are pretty famous and the Smithsonian had a lot of artifacts from them. The article will show 3 Sioux bows and 3 sets of arrows, as well as a quiver and bowcase! YAY!!
-
It sometimes makes one wonder who the hidden articles are being kept for. Way to go PRIMETIVE ARCHER. And I will be looking forward to all the info. Al
-
Went to the museum of the American Indian a few weeks back. Oddly, they had a big display of firearms, some beautiful points, but only a few bow/arrow sets here and there. I was hoping for a big display comparing native archery tackle. Have some pics, not sure if I can post them ???