[Aztlan] Bows and Arrows--When introduced and where one can find plenty of indigenous illustrations

[David Hixson]

--- Jerry Offner <ixtlil at earthlink.net> wrote:
> I think this thread's original question regarding
> bows and arrows was:
> 
> "when the inhabitants of mesoamerica and specially
> Guatemala started the use of the arrow...?"

I would just like to emphasize that nearly all of the
sources provided so far have been dated to the
Postclassic or Colonial periods (including all of the
chronicles, relaciones, and pictorial manuscripts).

While 16th century documents (or, for that matter,
those documents that may have been copied from other
manuscripts dating to as early as the 11th century)
may describe or depict bows and arrows, there has yet
to be any mention of Classic Period or earlier use of
bow and arrow technology in Mesoamerica (despite the
substantial corpus of hunting, warfare, and
sacrificial scenes depicted in mural and ceramic art
from these earlier time periods).

It is in this vein that I ask if there are those on
Aztlan who could cite archaeological data rather than
art-historical or ethnohistorical data to truly
evaluate the introduction of the arrow (as opposed to
the atlatl dart or spear).

For example, a 1999 article in American Antiquity:

http://www.saa.org/publications/AmAntiq/64-2/Nassaney.html

This is just a question, not a criticism of recent
posts.  I post this query as a list member, not as a
moderator.  I've found this discussion most productive
and fascinating.

-Dave

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