Lesson 9.1: Material Culture: TransportationObjectives:- Identify the main factors influencing the design and function of crafts and devices used

for transportation by indigenous peoples.- Describe the types and function of devices used for land transportation by indigenous

peoples.- Describe how plant  materials are used in the construction of transportation devices by

indigenous peoples.

- Ability to transport people/goods = requirement for any society- Allows for exploration and exploitation of (sometimes new) resources, emigration,

instigation of or escape from war, and trade with neighbouring communities - Water crafts = great examples Why Transportation?- Increase efficiency of movement of good/people - 1) Long distance movement of goods and materials

- Movement of greater amounts of goods and materials to and from remote locations

- Access to new sources of materials - Can lead to new resources -> either by hunting/fishing or trade

- 2) Long distance movement of people - Migration (permanent [establishing new settlements], or seasonal [i.e., summer

vs winter hunting grounds) - Communication (political/familial contact)- Tribal warfare - Exploration- Curiosity

- I.e., early polynesians traveled in catamarans and allowed them to colonize hundreds of islands around Papa New Guinea and Vanuatu; also: birch bark canoes were used by Aboriginal people for exploration

Factors Controlling the Design of Transportation Devices - Many things influence the design depending on the purpose of the craft

- Use (trade, war, hunting/fishing)- Land vs water (and subsequently types of

terrain/water being navigated) - Seasonal conditions (snow vs soil,

seasonal storms on ocean)- Intended load (influences size of craft)- Power source (wind, animal vs person) ->

influences design - Material available and skill of people

- Use of plant material was common for indigenous peoples

- Other elements which influence design: - Speed vs stability- Beauty vs fear invoking

- Comfort vs utility Land Transport - Travois

- Two long wooden poles for carrying goods - Originally by dogs (until horses were

reintroduced by spanish in 1400s)- May seem more primitive than wheel but:

- Simple + quick to make- Can be used over uneven terrain - Can be used throughout all

seasons- Aboriginal peoples did not adopt the wheel until they were

assimilated -> wheels required up-kept roads - Athabascan sled/toboggan

- Made from birch bark or thin slabs of wood lashed to bent willow saplings with spruce roots which had been boiled in water to soften them

- The sled on the left was pushed by a person but many were designed to be pulled like dogs (similar to those used by Inuit peoples)

- Snowshoe - Specific designs for/by each peoples - Settlers often brought/used skis - Made from steamed and bent white

birch or black ash frame, to which are threaded leather thongs to form the lacework

- The size and design vary depending on the size of the person, amount/type of snow, and conditions (i.e., open field vs dense forest)

- Swamp shoes - gave access to swamp foods (i.e., arrowhead, cattail, cranberry or turtles, frogs,

and fishWater TransportationDesign and Function- Typically follow one of two designs

- Raft of logs lashed together with vines/rope - Canoe-like shape (more speed)

- All indigenous watercraft were originally made from plant material except the leather + bone kayaks and uviaks made by the Inuit

- Bamboo rafts - Simple design

- Not intended for rapid travel - BUT: offer a solid platform from which the user can fish

or move materials across a calm, sheltered body of water

- Bamboo = water resistant, buoyant, and has hollow areas - Dug out canoe (cedar)

- Interior = burn out then scraped out - Sides = tapered at each end with a stone ax- Wooden paddles would be fashioned from another species (i.e., ash, pine)- Found among many indigenous cultures (Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe)- Typically a heavy craft- Prone to splitting after a few years of being exposed to the sun

- Giant (biggest) canoes -> made by people of the Pacific West Coast (Haida, Salish, Nunca)

- Some made from a single log of red cedar- 10-20 meters (whaling = only 10m, freighter + war = larger)- Flat bottom + wide (stability + ability to pull up to shore) - 20 or so people to propel - Whale, trade, intertribal combat (typically did not stray far from shore)

- Almost all north American Indigenous, VERY few used sails (most paddles)Polynesian Watercraft- Outrigger canoes

- Local fishing + travel - Single hulled canoes (up to 15m in length) + double hulled sailing catamarans, + huge

36m long waring vessels = ocean going - The waring vessels could carry 200-300 warriors + traveled up to 35mph -> this

made them a dominating force with the ability to rapidly take over neighbouring communities

- Sometimes simply owning a vessel like this was enough to quell conflict as it was a display of superiority/force

- Key to such elaborate ship building = d/t material available (lots of hardwood) - Vesi tree = key importance (fabaceae family)- Tall trees from which a 20m long hull could be fashioned- Described as the botanical equivalency to steel - Valued highly by polynesians, saved these trees for ship building use only, used

as much of the tree as possible, rituals involved in the harvesting of the tree, long planning (years) to negotiate building a new ship

- Other plants = used for different parts of the ship (Vesi = dense) - Vesi tree = almost irradiated (even though they were taken care of quite well)

- Over cultivation of trees not only depleted resources but also led to poor nutrients and erosion of the soil -> affected plant crops + fish

- Lead to the need to leave to new, unknown territories - But, the large ocean going vessels permitted this exploration of distant lands - Led to colonization of New Zealand by Maori

Special skills for construction and navigation

- On polynesian islands, the knowledge was held by small group of deeply revered individuals (shamans, technical experts, water + wind currant experts, political skill [in equal society])

- Women wove sails out of leaves from the Pandanus plant but otherwise were prohibited from the construction/sailing of vessels -> thought to bring bad luck, but did reduce the sexual tension of men at seas

Plant distribution and indigenous sea travel - Many plants were relocated since prehistoric times (not just a modern phenomena)

- I.e., sweet banana (huge crop in Hawaii) Northeastern Native Americans and the Birch Bark Canoe - 10-50ft- Single - 50 passengers - Smaller canoe = hunting, gathering, war- Larger canoe = moving/re-settlement - Spruce sap to waterproof- Root lacing facened bark - Ash gunwale- Delicate, light, well made craft - Paper/white birch = best

- Repels water, bark = removed easily, durable- Bark = removed in the spring (slit cut through the bark, bark peeled off) - Fresh bark could be used immediately, but stored/dried bark had to be soaked - Framing = made from northern white cedar or black ash - Seams = sown from roots of ash, tamarack, basswood, or inner bark of cedar - Norther tribes often traded canoes with souther tribes (who did not have as

easy access to materials)http://vimeo.com/55736061

9.2 Material Culture: Tribal CombatObjectives: - Describe some of the main incentives for indigenous cultures to engage in tribal

conflict.- Provide examples of weaponry, armor and defensive structures that are derived from

plant materials.- Relate various plant attributes to their use in tribal combat, including the formulation of

poisons.

- Almost all cultures have, at some point, participated in tribal conflict - Acquiring or defending land, material wealth, human resources - Intertribal raids- Status ties to (successful) warrior status

- More agrarian cultures often ended up being more defensive against H/G tribes (who would raid them, especially during times of hardship)

- Therefore walls/barriers were often constructed - Political alliances between tribes

- More strictly subsitance cultures often could not maintain a warrior base as the men were too busy hunting/fishing etc, -> only cultures which had access to surplus resources could devote men to warriorship (i.e., Aztec, Incan, Mayan)

Weaponry: Spears- Used for both hunting and warfare - Originally were made of wood with fire hardened tips

- Later, sharpened bone, flint, or obsidian heads to wooden shafts - With the introduction of metals, bronze, iron, or steel tips were used (could hold

a sharper edge) - Some spears = hand held, used for jabbing/thrusting- Longer, lighter spears = thrown (like a javelin) - Wooden shaft = made from a strong, straight grained hardwood (i.e., Hickory, ash,

maple in North America, more variety of species in the tropics)Atlatl - Found over every continent - Spear/dart throwing holder

- More range + speed + force Bows and Arrows- 64000 years ago = first- Found on all continents except aboriginal in Australia/New Zealand - Most common + simplest = long bow- More complex composite bows = developed in Asia + ___ using wood, horn and sinew

- Shorter but still could have the same range- Type of wood used affects quality of bow

- Cant have wood breaking under stress- Lightness of wood (chart of woods 9.2 9:00)

- Design + quality of arrow = also important - Straightness, flex, balance of arrow, fletching + tip- In North America arrow wood, poplar, river cane = used for arrow shaft

- Arrow straightener = used to make arrows - Heat from friction (moving the arrow back and forth through a hole in a piece of

hardwood) softens fibres allowing the arrow to become reshaped War clubs, tomahawks, and axes- Bludgioning weapons used for combat- Originally made from heads of heavy bone, wood, or stone

- Later made with metal - Some made for throwing, some for close combat Weaponry: Plant-based Poisons - Arrow + blowdart poisons = originally used for hunting purposes - Yew, Yucca, Bloodroot, wolfsbane (Aleuts killed whales with this) extracts - Curare = most famous, used in Peru, Ecuador, Brazil -> usually for hunting monkey

and birds but sometimes for warfare - Mixture of poisons- Made from curare vine or from a species of strychnos - Plant toxins = combined with venom from poisonous snakes or poisonous dart

frogs

- Stems and roots of plant = crushed to make a sap then mixed with the other poisons until it resembles a black tar-like mixture

- The mixture is carried around and reapplied to arrow/spear tip as needed - Causes muscle of face, neck, diaphragm to relax - Some indigenous have a curare antidote as well (have not been tested)

- Plant and fungal toxins = used to poison food for enemy (leave poisoned food for enemy to eat)

Armor and War Masks - Although some cultures believed no armor was a sign of bravery- Armor was typically constructed from plant materials (wood, seed capsules), sea

shells- Later metal was introduced

- War masks = used to induce fear - Masks = more commonly used for spiritual/ceremonial purposes Defensive Structures- I.e., palisade - Often, intertribal raids + blood feuds = often common but did not always escalate into

full on wars- Sometimes they did and whole peoples were eradicated