Hunting Weapons

Detailed, comprehensive account of swords, knives and bayonets, staff weapons, bows, crossbows, guns and other miscellaneous arms — dating from the Middle Ages to modern times. Over 280 contemporary illustrations catalog the spear of a Roman hunter, a medieval broad arrow, a harpoon gun fired by whalers, and much else.

Largely due to the tastes of nineteenth century Western collectors and curators, weaponry abounds in ethnographic museums. However, the relative absence of Asian, African, Native American and Oceanic arms and armour from contemporary gallery displays neither reflects this fact, nor accords these important artefacts the attention they deserve. Weapons are often those objects in museums which most strongly record traumatic histories of colonial conquest around the world, showcase a society’s most complex technologies, and encode a wealth of historical information relating to violent conflict, cultural identities, and indigenous masculinities. This volume brings together an international collective of museum professionals, indigenous cultural historians, anthropologists and material culture specialists to address the historical role of weapon collections in ethnographic museums, and to reconsider the value of studying arms for the purposes of writing richer cultural histories. From Australia to the Amazon, from Uttar Pradesh to ancient Ulster, the essays in this book endeavour to return ethnographic weapons to the centre of material culture studies. In doing so, they offer a blueprint for a more sophisticated future treatment of world weaponry.

Every intelligent person realizes that weapons are necessary to sustain and protect themselves and those they love. We cannot all be like the characters of fiction with a room full of varied and often exotic weaponry. For most of us there is always something else money must be spent on. What do we really need and what is the best way to use it? Chapters on Hunting rifles, Shotguns, Defensive Handguns and Rifles. Rimfires, Sighting systems, lighter and quieter rifle slings and Survival Knives- choosing, using and keeping them sharp

Mississippians have long found the need for an arsenal of interesting, lethal, and imaginative weapons. Native Americans, frontier outlaws, antebellum duelists, authorities and protestors in the civil rights struggle, and present-day hunters have used weapons to survive, to advance causes, or to levy societal control. In Weapons of Mississippi, Kevin Dougherty examines the roles weapons have played in twelve phases of state history. Dougherty not only offers technical background for these devices, but he also presents a new way of understanding the state's history-through the context and development of its weapons. Chapters in the book bring the story of Mississippi's weapons up to date with a discussion of the modern naval shipbuilders on the Coast and interviews with hunters keen to pass on family traditions. As Mississippi progressed from a sparsely populated wilderness to a structured modern society, management of weaponry became one of the main requirements for establishing centralized law and order. Indians, outlaws, runaway slaves, secessionists, and night riders have all posed challenges to the often better-armed authorities. Today, weapons unite Mississippians in the popular pastime of hunting deer, turkey, dove, rabbit, and even bear. In the state's social and cultural character, a shared lore and knowledge of hunting crosses age, racial, and economic lines. Weapons, once used for mere survival, have transformed into instruments masterfully crafted for those harvesting the state's abundant game.

Warriors of myth and legend, ninja are a fascinating, mysterious presence in our world. Through generations of disinformation and, more recently, their place in popular culture, the origins, tools, and methodology of the ninja have been shrouded in secrecy to alternately terrify or entertain the populace. The weapons of Ninjutsu are unusual and unorthodox. Though they have been popularized by the public's expanding interest in the Ninja arts, they remain poorly understood. Glamorization of this method of defense has led to a publicly perceived disassociation from its origins as a "peasant art." Ninja Tools and Weapons provides a reframing of the skills of Ninjutsu closer to the discipline's lower-class roots. Dr. Michel Farivar clarifies the origins of the weapons as well as supplies indepth insight into the mindset that developed them. As Ninjutsu moves into the modern age, this clarification remains relevant to those interested in the history of the ninja as well as the anatomy and evolution of conflict.