PRIMITIVE AMERICAN ARMOR 



By WALTER HOUGH, Ph. D., 

 Department of Ethnology, U. S. National Museum. 



&quot; Cornelius Tacitus doth pleasantly quip and jest at the men of war of our ancient Gaules, so armed, 

 only to maintaine themselves, as they that have no means either to be offended or to raise them 

 selves being overthrowne. MONTAIGNE, Of The Parthian Armes. 



In the U. S. National Museum there are many examples of primitive 

 American armor. These defensive weapons may be classed as parrying 

 armor, or the shield, and body armor, for the defense of the head, 

 trunk, legs, and arms. The subject will be treated under form, mate 

 rial, structure, decoration, function, mythology, and distribution. 



I. SHIELD. 



The shield is the first defensive weapon both in point of time and of 

 usefulness. While the shield on first thought may seem merely 

 intended as a covering for the vulnerable points of the body, its impor 

 tance is far greater in parrying. Therefore, with this idea in view, the 

 shield may be as simple as the plain parrying stick of the Australians, 

 which begins the classic series of Lane Fox. 



ervA- 



If one bears in mind that defensive weapons are the concomitants of 

 offensive weapons, the development of the shield becomes clear. Thus, 

 where missile weapons are used, the parrying stick is a natural and 

 adequate defense. Where missiles are given greater velocity with the 

 throwing strap, the throwing stick, or the bow, the shield must cover 

 the body better. It would seem that the broad shield is the counter- 

 growth of the bow. 



The circular shield characterizes the Western Hemisphere. The 

 North American shield is convex and from 12 to 26 inches in diameter. 

 The Mexican area is perhaps an exception, though the Codices almost 

 invariably depict the round shield, and the surviving Mexican shields, 

 on which Mrs. Zelia Nuttall is authority, are circular.* The Nahua 

 shield was &quot; sometimes rounded and sometimes oval, sometimes, rounded 

 on the lower side.&quot; Some shields were of an ordinary size; others were 

 intended to cover the entire body and were constructed so that Avhen 

 not in use they could be folded up and carried under the arin.t Lafitau 

 conveys the idea that the Iroquois had shields of different shapes.! 



As to material, nearly all American shields are made of thick -raw 

 hide, that of the buffalo and elk being most available. Shields worked 



^ *Nuttall, Zelia, on Aucieiit Mexican Shields. Internal. Archiv. fur Ethnologie, 

 1 .eiden, Vol. v, pt. i, 1892, pp. 34-53. 



, &amp;lt;&amp;gt;it, II. II., Native K.-u-rs of the 1 acilic. Vol. n, p. 407. 



titiiu, MuMira deH Sauvugc8 AiU ; ri&amp;lt;|iiui)s, Vol. n, p. 197, Paris, 1724. 



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