Penobscot?????

[JW_Halverson]

Crows head lists a hickory finished bow for $199, and an unfinished tillered kit for $139.  What does the Penobscot nation say about this thing?  If it is authentic, and somewhat ancient,  there should be some artifact evidence, but that region is a high humidity area, and wood will rot away quickly, as we know.  I would think there would be some ethnology research works somwhere at one or more colleges or universities in their territory.  One site credits the design to Dr(?) Frank Loring(?) around 1900, another claims it is a very ancient design dating back to at least the Viking incursions.  Guess I will do some checking for valid research.  Might keep me out of trouble.
Hawkdancer

Frank Loring had no doctorate. From most accounts he was of European descent and mostly made "Big Thunder" noise without much lightning.  Good luck finding documentation that can stand up to peer review.  If you find anything, I'd love to hear it. The earliest Penobscot double bow dates to Frank Loring and is highly suspect historically.

[Hawkdancer]

I wonder what he had in his pipe !  Maybe Marc has some tracks that might lead somewhere!  I know there are a number of folks who "pass for Native American or First People" who don't come close.  I will start with the colleges and universities in that area, as well as the regional tribal offices.  If it legit or not, there should be some peer reviews, such as thesis or dissertations.  Marc's previous thread indicated there was no advantage gained from the design.  I can't picture a native hunter going to all the work involved in making the double tillered double bow, unless he or she saw it on a "vision quest".  I don't know if the eastern peoples did vision quests a a rite of passage.  Any way, I need to refresh my research skills and update to the electronic age.  I will let you know if I find anything interesting and/or legit!
Hawkdancer