Native American Arrows

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by kronckew

Stone points as someone mentioned, can be made quite quickly by an experienced knapper. They are much sharper than mere iron/steel points. Eye surgeons frequently use a small knapped stone scalpel blade for microsurgery. they are however very brittle, and once loosed into prey are rarely reusable w/o rework or replacement. Knappers make them out of glass from old bottles and other modern glass sources even today - you can find them on a well known online auction site.

I am surprised the US Army did not issue body armour, mail, or brigantines, to aid in their expensively trained and maintained troopers and Officers from becoming pincushions.

Thank you for responding Wayne! Interesting notes on the knapping situation, and it does seem there were variations in the style of fashioning these arrowheads, so I imagine there was a degree of identification from these.


Good observation on the lack of arrow protection provided for soldiers in the times in the 19th c. in so called 'Indian wars'. It seems odd as even during Spanish colonial times, the value of 'leather armor' (cuera) against the deadly arrows was well known. It would seem that this, as well as the 'regulation' on firearms gave American Indian warriors the upper hand, just as at the Little Big Horn. Military regulation does not seem to have recognized actual warfare circumstances as was profoundly revealed.


Still curious on the painted bands on the shafts, were they 'tribal'? or individual?....and were these relegated only to hunting and not warfare?