Wood identification

[Karen Clary]

I would like to have the wood of an approximately 200 year old Karankawa Indian Bow (yes the real thing, as in "bows and arrows!") identified.  The wood is unusual in that it doesn't look like dicot hardwood, but rather a monocot or other non-dicot woody plant.   It has no hardwood-like growth rings, but has scattered vascular fiber bundles.   The Karankawa Indians lived along the Texas Gulf Coast until the colonization of Texas by Europeans.  Surviving tribal members in Texas  moved to Mexico afterwards. The bow was shown to me by a Karankawa descendant who would like to know about the bow and its construction.  I have scanned photos showing the bow with close up photos of the wood grain.  I could send them to those expert wood taxonomists on the list serve who are interested.


Karen H. Clary, Ph.D
Environmental Affairs Division
TxDOT
125 E. 11th St.
Austin, TX. 78701-2483
Tel. 512-416-2767
FAX 512-416-2319