There was a big difference in east, west, southeast and northeast, as well as the pacific and northwest, Canadian. Depending on time as well. With the "deer trade" going on in the southeast in the early to mid 1700s, the bow was quickly replaced by the gun. With the gun, you could get more hides to trade for more goods, killing at greater distances.
There are first hand accounts of as someone mentioned above, smoking bears out of their den trees, whole deer hides, with head, being draped over a hunter, as a decoy, while other hunters waiting in ambush, shotting turkeys off the roost, by the dozens at a time, (both white and Indian shotting the turkeys), spears, reed traps and weirs in rivers for fish, (some are still evident still today, (the rocks pointing in a "v" shape) down stream. There were buffalo and elk in the southeast in the early 1700s as well. These were hunted around the "salt licks" of southeastern Tennesse, on ambush. River cane was thick and abundant in these areas as well.
Depending were one lived, would depend on what one would use, east, hickory, was the #1 bow material, locust was used some as well, with sinew, bear gut, squeril gut, nettle, and many other plant life was used for sting material. Cane, dogwood and various other woods for arrows, again, depending on the location in the east. Some had no points, just charded in the fire after sharpening, copper or brass cones, heads hammered from brass tin trade kettles, steal trade points, animal teeth, bone, bills etc. for arrow heads, as well as the flint rocks. The Florida Indians used more bone, teeth and trade metals then rocks. Fletching was what could be had, there are many birds out there with large feathers, again, depending on what part of the country one lived in, you used what was at hand, or what could be traded for from other towns or travelers, both white and Indian.
The Indians of the Southeastern United States, by John R. Swanton is a very good read of early indian life.
The Voyages of VonReck is another. William Bartram, Charles Hudson's The Southeastern Indians, is a good read too.
Hunting was not year round for the Indians, it was a season crop, same as nuts, berries, corn, squash, fish, deer, etc. had it's season.
In all of life, there is a season for all life. Every thing was used, nothing wasted. But the Europeons changed all of that in time. The Deer Trade, with the availability of the gun, about wiped out the deer east of the Mississipi, in the southeast. Long gone are the elk and buffalo, the turkey population too, fell on bad times.
What was harvested, was for the good of the "Town" and everyone shared in the bounty. When the towns grew, they would split off in "Clans" and start another town, this was all done for a reason. Hunters would travel good distances to hunt the meat, many different "Peoples" had common hunting grounds, but only what was needed was taken, no more.
My limited knowledge is only of the Southeasten Peoples, as my ancestors were once, I am a student and still learning of the old ways.
It ain't like Hollyweird, it was totally different.
Topic: What about the American Indians? (Read 1835 times)
