I don’t drink much beer these days, being all paleo-diet and such but when I do, it’s always a good one.
Author: George Crawford
archaeologist, archer, primitive technologist, and wannabee musician ... mostly
Timely…
“Great republics do not last. Whatever has been the rule in history may be depended upon to remain the rule. History repeats itself. Vast power and wealth corrupt a nation. It incites dangerous ambitions and could bring the republic down. It can pack the Supreme Court with members friendly to its purpose, rundown the Congress, and crush the people’s voice. This has been a strange panic. It’s like a blight, a paralysis, in which a mighty machine has slipped its belt and is still running.”
Mark Twain
Tartar Arrows from the Grayson Collection
Something for an arrow maker to aspire to. There is much to learn from the old masters in their fields. Wonderfully tapered shafts, great fletchings, and good use of paint.
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Crimean Tartar Arrows 
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| Turkey, 18th–19th centuriesFour military arrows for use with Crimean Tartar bow. Straight wood shafts. Hawk feather fletching, three fletches, radial form, glued on. Bulbous self nocks, painted red on inside of notch. Hand-forged steel broadhead points, ridged at the base and thickened towards the tip; sinew reinforced. Decorated with red and gold paint.
86.5 cm long, shaft diameter is 0.8 cm. MAC 1994-0745 Click here to access the Grayson collection, Museum of Anthropology, at the University of Missouri. |
Edo Archery
19th century archery set, one bow missing.
Surimono print
Bow, arrow, and target from a culture that still loved archery, 1856.
Mike’s Gypsy Wagon
Mike is finishing up his remarkable vardo in the great white north. He included a mollycroft in the roof which not only looks cool but should add a lot of light and headroom. The front storage is accessible from the outside like a sheepherder and it will have an enormous bay window in the front. As it comes along I hope he’ll write up more about the design and construction of the wagon. With this wagon and Jack’s build last year, I think I’ll add a page to the header bar for “other vardos” so that they are easy to find on the blog.
Enjoy! Hopefully more to come…
Oregon Basques
Here’s a link to a short article about the Basques in Oregon from the Oregon Encyclopedia. I’m just in it for the wagon photos of course.
Bone Point, Quebec
Bone point from Saguenay-Lac Saint Jean Region; Québec; Canada. Probably very early 20th century.
Surimono 1862
If I could ever look this cool…
Woodblock print, British Museum. Click the image for more information.
Growing Up on the Range
A great story I read years ago about being raised in a family of six in a sheep camp measuring about 7 x 8′! (I think that’s the floor space). I recently relocated the article in Mother Earth News.
Here’s an excerpt:
“The canvas-covered sheep wagon was roughly about seven feet wide by eight feet long. On the front end a door opened out of the middle and you stepped down onto the wagon tongue and thence to the ground. From the inside looking out, the stove was on the left of the door. On the right was a small wash stand with several wooden drawers for storage of linens, towels and socks. A bucket of water and washbasin were on the oil cloth covered top and a small mirror hung above the basin for shaving. Soap, toothbrush, razor and essentials rested on top of the stand when in location or were stowed in a drawer when moving.”
Read more here: http://www.motherearthnews.com/nature-community/sheepherders-wagon-zmaz70mjzkin.aspx
Preindustrial Craftsmanship 