SI.ING CONTRIVANCES FOR PROJECTILE WEAPONS. 637 



siiiiill loops iiiv (i<i^h(ly t'asteiiod. Tlu* socoiid assists the rotation and 

 the ('(Milcr of <>r;ni(y by means of a lonovr cord wound around the 

 spear, sottino- i( in rotation when released. 



The first tyi)e, whieh is used in war as well as the chase, is in two 

 liToups — ((t) a lhrowin<2: strap loosel}^ attached to the spear; and (h) 

 a cord fastened to the spear. 



The first p-oup is found in New Caledonia, New Hebrides, and 

 New Zealand, with a variety in New Z(>aland and Hawaii." 



The projectile thon<x is a short cord braided from cocoa liber or bat 

 hairs, which has at one end a loop and at the other a knot, and which 

 is called in New (luinea ■■* sii)p " (see pi. iv, fig. 40). The spear 

 belonging to this, from 3 to 4 meters in length, has a hook back of the 

 center of gravity, finel}^ carved from the shaft, and usually represent- 

 ing a man's head; the spear also is beautifully ornamented witli 

 Avrappings of hair and feather tufts. In use the loop is thrust over 

 the thumb '' or little finger,^" while the knot is placed back of the hook 

 on the s])eai'. In throwing, the spear, grasped by the left hand near 

 the point, draws the cord tightly toward the right. The releasing 

 is accomplished as with the ordinary spear except that the cord 

 assists the final rotation and the knot releases itself readily from the 

 knob, so that by this '"'' the force of the throw is nuich increased.'' '' 

 Forster (Vol. II, pp. '220 and 304) suggests that the projectile thong, 

 after the knot Avas fastened back of the knob, was wrapped around 

 the spear (see pi. iv, fig. 49). 



A subclass, which shows the combination of the shaft and the pro- 

 jectile thong, occurs in New Zealand and Hawaii. Schurtz reports, 

 in Urgeschichte der Kultur, that a simple wooden spear fastened to 

 the snare with the aid of a stick was used in New Zealand, which 

 released at the proper instant when thrown. This was called " ko- 

 taha," and the spear used in connection was called "" kopere."" 



The second group shows a small leather loop fastened to the spear. 

 It appears in Togo and in India. Numerous spears from Togo are 

 found in the Leipzig Museum, 1.8 meters in length, with lanceolate 

 iron j)oint and a long iron spud. About 20 centimeters back of the 

 center of gravity there is a small leather loop about 4 centimeters in 

 length (see pi. iv, fig. 50). No literature on these spears is at hand 

 and about their use nothing is known. Egerton (Handbook of In- 

 dian Arms, p. 12, pi. 2, fig. 6; and p. 79, pi. 72, figs. 72 and 75) gives 

 numerous illustrations of spears from India which also have a loop 



o New Caledonia : Forster, Waltz, Schurtz. New Hebrides : Meinlcke, Eck- 

 hardt, Forster, Gray (Some Notes on the 1'annese. Intern. Arch., VII, p. 225 f.). 

 New Zealand : Bastian. New Zealand and Hawaii : Schurtz, Doctor Arning. 



6 Waitz : Anthrop. der Naturvolker, VI, .597 et seq. 



<■ Eckhardt : Der Archipel der Xeu-IIebrideii. Verhandlungen des Vereins for 

 naturw, Unterhultuug zu Hamburg, 1877, Vol. IV. 



