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Date: | Wed, 11 Oct 2006 13:04:31 -0400 |
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The Arundo cane would be better suited for fishing poles than arrow shafts.
Also, Arundo is not a native plant. There are rather hilarious attempts every
year to "eradicate" Arundo populations in creeks and stream beds, only to see
it come back with a vengeance the following spring.
I have not been eager to contribute to this discussion because I feared we
had other cane varieties and no one I have ever met in archaeology tried to
distinguish genus and species. The best native cane source to my knowledge is at
Scissor's Crossing in the Anza-Borrego Deseert, out east of San Diego. Of
course, other populations undoubtedly exist and many have been extirpated by
cattle and other grazing animals.
Local examples of arrows made from local cane include both composite arrows
(with the detachable foreshaft) and single shaft arrows. The best surviving
arrows have been found out in the desert. One of the most spectacular finds
came in the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park when an off-roader found a cave with
bundles of shafts and cracks with them jammed inside. I personally never
found a cane arrow in the entire 36-years of hiking and surveying. but I have
found a few shaft straighteners made of steatite.
Ron May
Legacy 106, Inc.
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