# What did ancient people use to attach feathers to arrows? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 16, 2016, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-ancient-people-use-to-attach-feathers-to-arrows/774894 "2016-12-16T23:18:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2016, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-ancient-people-use-to-attach-feathers-to-arrows/774894/1 "2016-12-16T23:18:40Z")
I’ve seen references to “fish glue”. Did they boil fish bones to make some sort of glue? ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2016, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-ancient-people-use-to-attach-feathers-to-arrows/774894/2 "2016-12-16T23:37:15Z")
Boiling up connective tissue made glue. No doubt ancient man discovered this by accident and thought “That’s useful…”. Fish bones were just one source: > [@](#): > > With only minor variations, the same basic processes are used to make bone glue, hide or skin glue, and fish glue. The hides and other scraps are washed so that dirt is removed, and they are soaked to soften them. This material is called stock, and it is cooked either by boiling it in open tanks or cooking it under pressure in autoclaves. The resulting liquid, called ‘glue liquor’ is extracted and reheated again to thicken the glue. When cooled, this material looks like jelly and is solid. To remove the impurities and make the glue clear, chemicals like alum or acid followed by egg albumin may be added. These chemicals cause the impurities to precipitate, or fall out, of the glue. > > Read more: [How glue is made - material, manufacture, making, history, used, processing, parts, steps, product](http://www.madehow.com/Volume-5/Glue.html#ixzz4T2zHfsnv) ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2016, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-ancient-people-use-to-attach-feathers-to-arrows/774894/3 "2016-12-16T23:40:51Z")
I had always thought they were tied on with sinew. The cool thing about sinew (of some sorts, anyway) is that it shrinks when it dries, so as to make some very tight binding. (This is also how the [disparate elements of Zuni fetishes](http://www.cuttingrocks.com/images_books/zuni_fetishes_and_carvings_p15.jpg) are bound together. Wet sinew is tied around the parts, then dries to incredible tightness.) However, glue works too. [Here’s a fun cite explaining how](http://www.offthegridnews.com/how-to-2/how-to-make-all-natural-glue-just-like-the-native-americans-did/) to make “hide glue” and other adhesives. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2016, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-ancient-people-use-to-attach-feathers-to-arrows/774894/4 "2016-12-16T23:41:48Z")
Googling suggests that one common method was to tie them on - specifically, to make a wrap above and below the fletching with wet animal sinew (which has the property that it shrinks as it dries). ETA: Ninjaed. ---
**Author:** ![minlokwat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minlokwat/32/2844_2.png) [@minlokwat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minlokwat)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2016, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-ancient-people-use-to-attach-feathers-to-arrows/774894/5 "2016-12-17T00:25:36Z")
According to this Primitive Technology video [link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLoukoBs8TE) he uses tree resin and then secures the feather with a strand of bark fiber. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2016, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-ancient-people-use-to-attach-feathers-to-arrows/774894/6 "2016-12-17T01:47:22Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > . . . ETA: Ninjaed. Iroquoised! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Zeke\_N.Destroi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/4af34b/32.png) [@Zeke\_N.Destroi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeke_N.Destroi)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2016, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-ancient-people-use-to-attach-feathers-to-arrows/774894/7 "2016-12-17T02:36:22Z")
Cree-sus that’s bad. You oughta be Siouxed. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2016, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-ancient-people-use-to-attach-feathers-to-arrows/774894/8 "2016-12-17T03:15:01Z")
Ute think he’d know better. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2016, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-ancient-people-use-to-attach-feathers-to-arrows/774894/9 "2016-12-17T12:20:54Z")
Inuit, the puns start flying. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2016, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-ancient-people-use-to-attach-feathers-to-arrows/774894/10 "2016-12-17T12:56:23Z")
You know, when I saw the thread title, I thought it sounded like the setup for one of those silly kid’s jokes with a punchline on the order of “To keep his wigwam”, but wasn’t going to mention that because it would derail the thread. But given the last few responses… ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2016, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-ancient-people-use-to-attach-feathers-to-arrows/774894/11 "2016-12-17T13:43:10Z")
One problem with gelatin (hide and fish) glues is that they are not waterproof. Not a problem if you can keep your arrows dry, but it is a consideration. Casein glue is waterproof, and was recommended in at least one old (modern, 40s) [archery manual](https://www.archerylibrary.com/books/stemmler/essentials-of-archery/docs/making-self-arrows.html), but pitch, resin, binding, glue - all have been used in different times and places. The San, for instance, rarely fletch their arrows at all. When they do, it might just be a single whole feather tied off on one side with fine fibres, and glued with a gum arabic-like acacia resin. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2016, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-ancient-people-use-to-attach-feathers-to-arrows/774894/12 "2016-12-17T16:08:15Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > One problem with gelatin (hide and fish) glues is that they are not waterproof. Not a problem if you can keep your arrows dry, but it is a consideration. So, before gunpowder, did folks speak of “keeping your arrows dry”? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2016, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-ancient-people-use-to-attach-feathers-to-arrows/774894/13 "2016-12-17T16:42:19Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > The San, for instance, rarely fletch their arrows at all. When they do, it might just be a single whole feather tied off on one side with fine fibres, and glued with a gum arabic-like acacia resin. I remember an anecdote (I thought that it was in one of Jared Diamond’s books, but I’m not finding it) about a New Guinea native visiting the outside world and the only thing that really impressed him was seeing feathered arrows, which he had never seen or heard of before, and adopted the technique after returning home. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2016, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-ancient-people-use-to-attach-feathers-to-arrows/774894/14 "2016-12-17T20:06:48Z")
You could tie a trimmed half feather to the arrow or put a groove in for the quill. Maybe they glued it too. I’m remaining Neutral, Toqhuat many puns. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2016, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-ancient-people-use-to-attach-feathers-to-arrows/774894/15 "2016-12-17T22:14:41Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > So, before gunpowder, did folks speak of “keeping your arrows dry”? 🙂 There was more consideration at keeping your bowstring dry … it needed the elastic spring for best function. [I did a few classes on primative survival tech as part of my interest in archeology so I took flint knapping, which lead into fixing said chipped pieces of stone to wood for knife or hatchet handles, arrow shafts and spear shafts. There is an [interesting bit](http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/evolution/defy-stereotypes.html) on extracting pitch for glue that demonstrated how sophisticated ancient tech could be.] I would say that one of the more interesting things I learned was how to split and secure knife and axe blades using sinew and pitch glue. THough the knapping process was absolutely fascinating. It actually sort of takes tools to make tools, though you could use a picked up hammer stone and salvaged deer horn instead of needing to carry around your own tools … Practical archeology is a fascinating field. For example, for years they kept finding evidence of little dug out hollows beside entry doors in celtic round houses and figured they were for holding grain or whatever. It wasn’t until they built a reconstruction village and populated it with people and appropriate farm animals that they discovered that the chickens would dust bathe in _just_ that spot, creating a hollow just like they used to find in digsites. Save ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2016, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-ancient-people-use-to-attach-feathers-to-arrows/774894/16 "2016-12-17T22:36:40Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Practical archeology is a fascinating field. For example, for years they kept finding evidence of little dug out hollows beside entry doors in celtic round houses and figured they were for holding grain or whatever. It wasn’t until they built a reconstruction village and populated it with people and appropriate farm animals that they discovered that the chickens would dust bathe in _just_ that spot, creating a hollow just like they used to find in digsites. Reminds me of a story about anthropologist sometimes finding small, elongated pieces of clay that were thought to possibly be phallic symbols–until someone decided that maybe the artists were rolling a small piece of clay between their hands to test the consistency. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2016, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-ancient-people-use-to-attach-feathers-to-arrows/774894/17 "2016-12-18T03:12:07Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I remember an anecdote (I thought that it was in one of Jared Diamond’s books, but I’m not finding it) about a New Guinea native visiting the outside world and the only thing that really impressed him was seeing feathered arrows, which he had never seen or heard of before, and adopted the technique after returning home. Used as short-range weapons in PNG, and the fact that they missed at long distances was the only thing that kept them from all killing each other when they turned out to fight (which would have been a self-limiting activity). The arrow could go 2 feet into the ground, and was barbed. so it did a lot of damage to anything it hit. ---
**Author:** ![dirty\_hippie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@dirty\_hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirty_hippie)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2016, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-ancient-people-use-to-attach-feathers-to-arrows/774894/18 "2016-12-18T03:37:24Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > Inuit, the puns start flying. Lol! Good one! Sent from my C6916 using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2016, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-ancient-people-use-to-attach-feathers-to-arrows/774894/19 "2016-12-18T07:45:46Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I remember an anecdote (I thought that it was in one of Jared Diamond’s books, but I’m not finding it) about a New Guinea native visiting the outside world and the only thing that really impressed him was seeing feathered arrows, which he had never seen or heard of before, and adopted the technique after returning home. [was it this article?](http://www.salon.com/2011/10/13/the_tribesman_who_facebook_friended_me/) > [@](#): > > But the anthropologist was wrong about one thing; they did take something back: the idea of putting feathers on arrows. In the second week of their visit, I took three of the tribe to watch an archery club shoot at targets in a local community center. One of the archers was a fanatic and made his own arrows from willow, spruced with turkey feathers. The tribesmen were fixated on the feathers. “Why these feathers?” they asked. “It makes them fly straight,” said the enthusiast. And after a few practice shots, the tribesmen discovered that it certainly did. Their eyes lit up. Back home (presumably for thousands of years), they had been making arrows that were three times the size and weight of these feathered arrows, because without feathers an arrow needs to be weighty in order to fly true through the air. Just adding feathers would mean that they could carry three times the number of arrows out on hunts, and shoot three times the number of feral pigs. Of all the ideas in England, this was the one that could have an immediate and significant impact on their lives. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2016, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-ancient-people-use-to-attach-feathers-to-arrows/774894/20 "2016-12-18T12:34:42Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > those silly kid’s jokes with a punchline on the order of “To keep his wigwam”, You would be PaWNEeD [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-ancient-people-use-to-attach-feathers-to-arrows/774894.md?page=2)