Forward into the Past...

Indeed. I am soon going to be done with the hickory bowstave that I chose to transform into a semi-paleolithic bow. I have no arrows for it yet, in part because the final draw weight is not yet known. It looks to wind up around 45#@28", which is perfect for hunting and an aging hunter. ;)

Alongside that are the paleolithic items to accompany it, or the Ötzi kit, since it is heavily based off of this 5300 year old mans' gear. The quiver, some birchbark containers, dried fungus on a thong, etc. 

With those, of course, are the items of clothing; leggings, breechcloth, shirt, over tunic, and hat, not to mention footwear. Now I am not recreating his footwear, instead using something more akin to the Scythian moccasin boot. I am not doing a full on reenactment after all, but a kind of primitive living bit of exercise of my own devising. 

There is the atlatl too, which appears to have been concurrently developed with the bow, the sling and its stones, flint points and pieces, a bronze knife instead of a bronze axe, since I have blades for the former but not the latter. Fire making kit, both friction and striker. Believe it or not, bronze can be used as a striker too.

I cannot hunt with the atlatl, but I can hunt with a paleolithic kind of bow..and during bow season I have no need of orange so I can wear the entire kit and see how things work out.

Along with all of this is a change to a modified paleolithic kind of diet, that is, heavy on meats, fruits, berries, and vegetables, along with roots and tubers, but very light on the grains and grain derived foods. Too, the movement to free range meats and 'organic' foods in general, while expensive, is cheaper in the long run due to better health and reduced costs there. I am already feeling better and I expect that will get even more pronounced down the line, assuming I do not fall off the wagon.

In a way, I suppose it could be said I am 'going paleo' but in my own direction. As ever.

I am enjoying the hand skills; flint working, bow making, etc. They are useful skills to have. I suspect if civilization went loopy I'd wind up leading a kind of nomadic hunting-gathering life, more or less. It would certainly be a (hard) educational experience. That said, I am not expecting it for this lifetime.

I do find it interesting that comparisons of skulls from early hunter-gatherers and early farmer-herders have remarkable differences in dentition and structure. The former have good teeth, properly grown in wisdom teeth, and larger jaws. The latter have horrid teeth, smaller jaws, and wisdom teeth growing in wrongly. I see arguments on both sides about these things and not being an expert myself, leave it to those folk to argue over. As a simple individual, it would seem to me that the former skulls come from healthier individuals, although I will bet bodies show a much harder life than the latter.

Things to think on.

Eledhwen

Hunting Preparations

St. Huberts' Rangers has gone FB. Secret site though, only visible and accessible to members. Has a slew of activity right off, no surprise.

Almost to where I can resume work on various bits of archery gear, Ranger kit, and clothing. :) I have nice woolens of grey, green, and brown...perfect! They'll be made in medieval style, which also works for Tolkien.

St. Huberts' Rangers has a pretty narrow focus being entirely Europe and running from the 11th through 15th centuries. My own persona therein is Lady Galiana deBeaumarchais...a Welsh-English woman living somewhere along the border of Shropshire, Wrexham, and Powys in the 14th century.

That said, the garments are suitable for any time frame from the 11th through 14th centuries.

In the current lineup...putting in a tillering board so I can more accurately tiller the bow staves I have. Soon we shall see how well..or how poorly..I have done. I aim to acquire a froe for the purpose of splitting my own billets for boywering purposes.

String making is about to leap ahead and once again we shall see if I have it down or now. Hopefully without catastrophic results. I prefer natural materials over synthetic so I have flax and hemp cording to work with.

Arrow building continues! A lot of new arrows to come, all with self nocks this time around, and any softwood shafts will include a horn, bone, or hardwood insert for strength. I have good medieval heads for these and will get more. Eventually I should be able to make them. I will also be experimenting with footed, breasted, and tapered shafts.

New pouches, of course. The hunting trousse has a new sheath, nearly completed; that is one nice knife I might say.

The horn is polished and clean. The baldric is gaining some work and decoration. I may place buttons or toggles on the main strap and fashion the secondary pieces such that they can button to the shoulder baldric or around the belt itself. A little more flexible.

My lady Jannat is going to craft a scroll for me with a hunting theme. I never got my Award of Arms scroll from the SCA...twenty years gone...and I am highly unlikely to receive one anytime in the foreseeable future with their backlogs...plus hunting down the King and Queen of the time to sign it is..complicated. The Duke isn't, and I suspect he'd readily sign it. The Countess...she'd have to be tracked down first, if she's even still around. I'd rather have Jannat do it anyway and the signatures are incidentals. Jannat never got her scroll either, more's the pity, nor one for her service award from Western Seas; the Wa'as' Oar. She did get one for her Arts award here in Bergental; the Hourglass.

Neither of us have Kingdom Awards aside from the AoA and honestly, I am not that ambitious.I do what I do and that's it. I am not about to jump through hoops or schmooze it up. Not my style.

Hunting season is only a few weeks away. Ta-Rahn! Ta-Rahn!

Eledhwen