poison arrows (arrows (weapons: missiles & projectors))

Part of a group of eight arrowheads and foreshafts. Consisting of wooden foreshaft, a triangular iron arrowhead and an integral shaft. Arrowhead attached to the foreshaft with vegetal fibre binding. Possibly poisonous?

The head of the arrow is detachable, lodging in the body of the hunter's prey whilst the shaft falls away. This allows the head to be recovered intact from the corpse of the prey and reused. If the head were still attached to the shaft it would be more likely to be knocked out, which would mean risking losing the arrowhead (the most valuable part of the arrow). It may also be that the longer the arrowhead stays in the prey the more effective its poison is. The use of poison-tipped arrows allows the San to hunt large prey with lightweight arrows and small, relatively weak bows.

fighting

object
MUSEUM NUMBER
22.12.66/11.3
PLACE
COLLECTION
MEASUREMENTS
overall: 205 mm x 17 mm
MATERIAL/TECHNIQUE
wood; iron; plant fibre
CATEGORY
Anthropology: Ethnography
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Collection Information

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