Spear Identification?

David · 5th November 2017, 08:30 PM

Hi folks. A friend of mine sent be photos of this spear hoping i might be able to ID it, but it is out of my range of knowledge. Anyone know anything about this?
It does seem meant for throwing as it seems to be fletched for flight stability.
I am sorry, i don't know the exact dimensions here, but hopefully the form is obvious to somebody here. Thanks!

asomotif · 5th November 2017, 10:21 PM

Looks more like an Arrow to me.

Unfortunately no idea where it could be from.

colin henshaw · 5th November 2017, 10:29 PM

Methinks its an arrow from South America somewhere, maybe Guyana/Northern Brazil ?

Robert · 5th November 2017, 11:12 PM

The overall shape of the tip of the arrowhead, the file work on the shank and the decoration on the shaft looks very similar to that found on some Philippine arrows that I have seen.

Best,
Robert

David · 5th November 2017, 11:13 PM

Yes, arrow is probably more appropriate, but i did not see this in person and my friend gave me no image of the entire object with size reference.
But i do believe we have narrowed it down and what we found seems to confirm my original belief that it is SEA. This seems to be from Aeta Negrito in the mountainous parts of Luzon. Can anyone confirm that to know any more about these arrows? First time i am seeing such a beast.

David · 5th November 2017, 11:22 PM

I did find some talk of these on an archery forum, but i'd love to find out more for my friend's sake.
http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/i...?topic=22060.0
I changed the thread title to reflect "arrow" rather than spear.

David · 6th November 2017, 11:42 PM

Anyone else has some tidbits here. I tried searching our archives, but found very little on arrows from Luzon. Bill posted some arrows in this thread that may well be PI, but they seem a bit different from this in the shaft so i'm not sure they are from the same area.
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ht=luzon+arrow

Ian · 7th November 2017, 06:23 AM

The fletching looks either Negrito or Igorot. Both are from Central/Northern Luzon. There are similarly shaped arrow heads shown in Krieger's plates elsewhere on this site—those hunting arrowheads are detachable and ascribed to the Negritos.

There is some information also in Fox's article on The Pinatubo Negritos, part of which is found here.

Ian.

David · 7th November 2017, 04:28 PM

Thanks Ian.

Sajen · 8th November 2017, 12:02 AM

Most interesting thread! Never seen something similar before!

David · 9th November 2017, 03:28 AM

Here is one more image of this arrow with the companion that my friend recently acquired. Seems there's not a lot of information about these floating around the web, unless i've just been using the wrong key words. Would it be fair to consider these a rare find?

Battara · 9th November 2017, 04:29 AM

Boy I learned something...........

David · 9th November 2017, 05:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Battara

Boy I learned something...........

If you are referring to the article that Ian posted, yes, very informative indeed.
Still, i would like to see more examples of this form of arrows, but i haven't managed to track down too many. I'm curious to know if any of our members have any examples in their collections. It's a shame a nice example of the bow didn't come with these very fine arrows. Great details about the construction of the bows in this article. Less about the forging if these particular heads.

Ian · 10th November 2017, 07:33 AM

David--I sent you a PM regarding similar arrows in an online auction that is active.

Ian.

David · 10th November 2017, 10:29 AM

Thanks Ian. What i see in that link is indeed similar, though these have a particular method of rattan binding and shaft decoration that is not apparent in these others, yet i do see something similar in the link i posted in post #6 which identifies that arrow as Aeta Negrito, so i leaning towards that over Igorot.

Ian · 10th November 2017, 05:37 PM

Hi David:

Yes, I agree that your friend's arrows are most likely Negrito. BTW, they are the finest examples of Negrito arrows I have seen. The workmanship on these is first class! The carving of the shafts, the form of the arrow heads, and just their overall condition is excellent. Bows and arrows of this quality were often used as "bride price" that was paid to the family of a bride by the prospective husband's family. I suspect these may have been made for that purpose, and for a family of distinction among the Aeta Negrito groups.

Thanks for posting these here.

Ian.

5th November 2017, 08:30 PM	#1
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,127	Arrow Identification? Hi folks. A friend of mine sent be photos of this spear hoping i might be able to ID it, but it is out of my range of knowledge. Anyone know anything about this? It does seem meant for throwing as it seems to be fletched for flight stability. I am sorry, i don't know the exact dimensions here, but hopefully the form is obvious to somebody here. Thanks! Attached Images Last edited by David; 5th November 2017 at 11:20 PM.

9th November 2017, 03:28 AM	#11
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,127	Here is one more image of this arrow with the companion that my friend recently acquired. Seems there's not a lot of information about these floating around the web, unless i've just been using the wrong key words. Would it be fair to consider these a rare find? Attached Images

5th November 2017, 10:21 PM	#2
asomotif Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 2,225	Looks more like an Arrow to me. Unfortunately no idea where it could be from.

5th November 2017, 10:29 PM	#3
colin henshaw Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 1,430	Methinks its an arrow from South America somewhere, maybe Guyana/Northern Brazil ?

5th November 2017, 11:12 PM	#4
Robert EAAF Staff Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Centerville, Kansas Posts: 2,196	The overall shape of the tip of the arrowhead, the file work on the shank and the decoration on the shaft looks very similar to that found on some Philippine arrows that I have seen. Best, Robert

5th November 2017, 11:13 PM	#5
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,127	Yes, arrow is probably more appropriate, but i did not see this in person and my friend gave me no image of the entire object with size reference. But i do believe we have narrowed it down and what we found seems to confirm my original belief that it is SEA. This seems to be from Aeta Negrito in the mountainous parts of Luzon. Can anyone confirm that to know any more about these arrows? First time i am seeing such a beast.

5th November 2017, 11:22 PM	#6
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,127	I did find some talk of these on an archery forum, but i'd love to find out more for my friend's sake. http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/i...?topic=22060.0 I changed the thread title to reflect "arrow" rather than spear.

6th November 2017, 11:42 PM	#7
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,127	Anyone else has some tidbits here. I tried searching our archives, but found very little on arrows from Luzon. Bill posted some arrows in this thread that may well be PI, but they seem a bit different from this in the shaft so i'm not sure they are from the same area. http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ht=luzon+arrow

7th November 2017, 06:23 AM	#8
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,207	The fletching looks either Negrito or Igorot. Both are from Central/Northern Luzon. There are similarly shaped arrow heads shown in Krieger's plates elsewhere on this site—those hunting arrowheads are detachable and ascribed to the Negritos. There is some information also in Fox's article on The Pinatubo Negritos, part of which is found here. Ian.

7th November 2017, 04:28 PM	#9
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,127	Thanks Ian.

8th November 2017, 12:02 AM	#10
Sajen Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Germany, Dortmund Posts: 8,794	Most interesting thread! Never seen something similar before!

9th November 2017, 04:29 AM	#12
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,226	Boy I learned something...........

10th November 2017, 07:33 AM	#14
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,207	David--I sent you a PM regarding similar arrows in an online auction that is active. Ian.

10th November 2017, 10:29 AM	#15
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,127	Thanks Ian. What i see in that link is indeed similar, though these have a particular method of rattan binding and shaft decoration that is not apparent in these others, yet i do see something similar in the link i posted in post #6 which identifies that arrow as Aeta Negrito, so i leaning towards that over Igorot.

10th November 2017, 05:37 PM	#16
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,207	Hi David: Yes, I agree that your friend's arrows are most likely Negrito. BTW, they are the finest examples of Negrito arrows I have seen. The workmanship on these is first class! The carving of the shafts, the form of the arrow heads, and just their overall condition is excellent. Bows and arrows of this quality were often used as "bride price" that was paid to the family of a bride by the prospective husband's family. I suspect these may have been made for that purpose, and for a family of distinction among the Aeta Negrito groups. Thanks for posting these here. Ian.