The Blowgun in the New World

Riley, Carroll L.

doi:10.1086/soutjanth.8.3.3628660

Cited by 8 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…We suggest that the technology for manufacturing metalworking blowpipes may be similar to, and possibly derived from, the technology for blowgun manufacture in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. Blowguns are long, hollow, and wooden instruments, used as weapons in both hunting and warfare in many areas of the world [ 53 – 55 ]. Historically, their use was particularly documented in tropical and semi-tropical areas of Mesoamerica, Amazonia, and the Gulf Coast including the Southeastern US [ 53 ], where they were primarily used to hunt birds and small animals [ 56 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Blowpipes and their metalworking applications: New evidence from Mayapán, Yucatán, Mexico

et al. 2020

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This study presents evidence of two tuyères, or blowpipe tips, used in metalworking at the Postclassic period city of Mayapá n. Blowpipe technology has long been hypothesized to be the production technique for introducing oxygen to furnaces during the metal casting process on the basis of ethnohistorical depictions of the process in ancient Mesoamerica. To our knowledge, the tuyères recovered at Mayapá n are the first archaeologically documented tuyères for pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica. The dimensions, internal perforation, vitrification, and presence of copper prills within the ceramic fabric, suggest that they were used in pyrotechnological production, likely metalworking, and is consistent with previous evidence for small-scale metalworking at Mayapá n. Blowpipe use in metallurgical production is a logical extension of a much longer tradition of blowgun use in hunting, which was likely already present in Mesoamerica by the time metal was introduced to West Mexico from South America. Furthermore, the dimensions of the Mayapá n tuyères are consistent with the internal diameter of ethnohistorically-documented blowguns from Jacaltenango in the southwest Maya region. We conducted replication experiments that suggest that when combined with wooden blowpipes, the Mayapá n tuyères would have been ideal for small-scale, furnacebased metallurgy, of the type identified at Mayapá n from Postclassic period contexts.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Blowpipes and their metalworking applications: New evidence from Mayapán, Yucatán, Mexico

et al. 2020

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“…The distal end of the dart is impregnated with curare. At conquest times, the use of blowguns extended from northern Bolivia to central Mexico (Riley 1952).…”

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confidence: 99%