Neolithic question

[Spotted Dog]

Would of cane or bamboo been used for Neolithic arrows ?

[Pat B]

Indigenous cane has been used all over the world as long as humans have made spears, atlatls and bows/arrows. It is an almost perfect shafting.

[Spotted Dog]

Thanks Pat. That is kind of what I thought. I have some nice pieces from MOJAM 2 years ago.
I'm collecting my flint chips for arrow heads and dogwood for forshafts.

[Pat B]

You don't need foreshafts unless you just want to make them. 

[Spotted Dog]

I was wanting to do Mesolithic too. So foreshafts would be needed.
Thank you.

[sumpitan]

Phragmites cane is as global as plant species get, and it grew throughout Europe, even in Lapland, already in the Mesolithic, but there are no finds of cane arrows here. This isn't just an accident of survival, as altogether several dozen arrow shafts and shaft fragments survive from the time and place (even if you count certain mass finds as one). Over Northern Europe, there isn't any evidence of cane arrows even in the later periods (the Near East already in the Mesolithic has, the Mediterranean in the Antiquity has some, including ancient texts). Throughout eons, arrow shafts were made from select few split timber and shoot species. All kinds of technology was possible and useful and still not done, such is the anthropological reality.

Tuukka

[Spotted Dog]

Thanks. I will try to find ash saplings here. They have a pithy core. Or rose. So foreshafts can be installed.

Dan

[Pat B]

Where do you live, Dog. You may have one of the shrub dogwoods or viburnums growing near you.

[Spotted Dog]

Pat,
I live in the Kansas City , Mo. area. We do have the dog wood here.
I need to get out and cut some.

Dog

[Pat B]

You probably do have red osier or gray dogwood and probably arrowwood or black haw viburnum.

[Spotted Dog]

I went to see my dad at the veterans home an hour north. On the way back I cut 8 shoots. Some kind of small.
Too much poison ivy there. I saw another place I will try to get into in the morning.
My dad is a decorated WWII vet . landed on Normandy Beach. He was a tank commander in the 3rd armored.
Spearhead division. He's lost his mind now, but had some stories to tell.

Dog

I wonder is it better to remove bark now or wait ?

[Pat B]

On most shoots you want to leave the bark on or they will check. I know the viburnums will check.  Cut the shoots long, leave the bark on and wrap them in bundles. Rubber bands works well and shrink as the drying shafts do. 
 On a few shoots take all the bark off except the last inch or 2 and let them dry. I have heard the shoots won't check doing this.  Just do a few to see how it works.

[Spotted Dog]

I have about 2 dozen. Dogwood and some honeysuckle.

[CherokeeKC]

I have scraped bark off except for last couple inches on each end of shaft of privet and viburnum and havnt had any check in the past.  I just cut a bundle of sourwood and am doing the same.  This will be my first time trying it on sourwood.  PatB have you ever tried this on sourwood?

[Pat B]

Cherokee, sourwood is my favorite shoot shaft. You can scrape the bark immediately with sourwood and it will not check. I have cut sourwood, scraped the bark, laid it under our wood stove and in 2 days made an arrow...and no checking. I do prefer to allow any shoots plenty of time to season properly generally but wanted to see if it could be done.