PRIMITIVE AMERICAN ARMOR. 



639 



net was inserted a piece of wooden body armor (17249) composed of 

 small, round rods of proper size, united by sinew cords and with nicely 

 carved wooden pieces about the arraholes. This is the only piece of 

 this aboriginal armor known to be iu existence. It was fastened behind 

 with two loops of sinew, into wliich wooden buttons were inserted. The 

 small rods of which it is composed were about three-fourths of an inch 

 in diameter, painted red. 



" The armor, slight as it was, must have been a tolerably good pro- 

 tection against the bone and stone arrowheads of the natives."* 



In the northern portion of this area, except in the Aleutian Islands, 



Fig. 4. 



SHOWING DETAIL OF WEAVING ROD AND SLAT ARMOR OF THE NORTHWEST COAST. 



the rod armor is an oblong band composed of peeled rods of uniform 

 length and diameter held in series by bauds of weaving (pi. 13).t 

 Lieut, ^iblack says, in describing this armor, that — 



The threads are sometimes single and sometimes in pairs, and are made to pass 

 over and under the rods in pairs, but in such manner that the overlappings alter- 

 nate from one row to the nest. This is shown in detail in fig. 4, where la and 



'Dall, W. H., Remains of Later Prehistoric Man in the Caves of the Aleutian 

 Islands, p. 18, Smithsonian Contrib. to Knowledge, No. 318. 



t DESCRIPTION OF PLATE 13. 



Eod armor. — Composed of 72 jieeled rods of uniform length and diameter, held in 

 vertical series by alternate bands of weaving of woolen and sinew cord. The rods 

 are bunched in the middle of the band. The ends of the rods are neatly hollowed 

 out, forming cup cavities, and there are 4 equidistant vertical bands of red paint. 

 This band was probably worn with a skin coat, both specimens having been secured 

 from the same native. There appears to be no device to prevent the rod band slip- 

 ping down. Width, 30 inches ; height, 23.V inches. (Cat. No. 168158, U.S.N.M. Taku 

 Indians;, southeastern Alaska. Collected by Herbert G. Ogdeu.) 



