and in Peru, often reinforced with metal. In recent times, at least, some forms of armor were used by the Araucanians and Abipones of Chile and Argentina.
While shields of wicker and cane were widely used in the area of intense culture and in the eastern maize area, the small circular shield seems to have centered in Mexico. Among the Pueblo and Plains tribes, a similar shield of bison hide appears, whose decorations are quite like those of ancient Mexico. Since the restricted distribution of the circular
Fig. 60. Wooden Slat Armor, British Columbia. Teit, 1900. I
shield is geographically continuous, we may assume for it a single origin. In Peru, on the other hand, the shields were rectangular.
A case of some theoretical interest is the blowgun, found among the forest Indians of eastern South America, in the Antilles, and even in eastern United States, the Iroquois of New York being the most northern point in its distribution. The somewhat analogous distribution of this weapon in Asia gives us one of the most probable cases of independent invention.
Finally, we may turn to the bow. Its use appears to have been universal from the Eskimo of the North to the simple Fuegians of the South. Though in the historic horse culture of the guanaco area it was not used, the evidence for its former use there is generally considered as conclusive. However, the
