42.8.37, bone object (see below)
Alaskan Arctic
Frank Hibben collection
Photographs by B. Bernard
What is this object? To solve the puzzle, perhaps it would help to find
a similar object with a leather cord attached...
42.8.36, ivory object (see below)
Alaskan Arctic
Frank Hibben collection
Photographs by B. Bernard
Still not obvious? Not surprising, unless you practice a specific ancient skill as a sport. Arctic people were still using identical objects when explorers and anthropologists first visited them. Thus, through ethnographic analogy, archaeologists can identify these objects as bow guards. As bowstrings are released, they tend to snap against the wrist of the hand holding the bow. The bow guard protects the wrist from this stinging snap. The leather cord holds the bow guard in place. Bow guards, sometimes called bracers, are as widespread and bows and arrows. To see an archer wearing a bow guard, please click here.
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