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Which weapons were used for hunting and warfare by Indigenous peoples of the tropical forests?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Map of South America and the Caribbean showing the distribution of Aboriginal cultural groups, with regions color-coded by cultural type including Andean, Central American, tropical forest, and various nomadic cultures such as aquatic nomads, forest hunters and gatherers, and shellfish gatherers. Major group names are labeled across the continent and surrounding islands.
South American forest Indian Distribution of aboriginal South American and circum-Caribbean cultural groups.

Indigenous peoples of the tropical forests in South America utilized several specialized weapons for hunting and, in some cases, warfare.

Primary Weapons

  • Bows and Arrows: These were used by all nomadic groups in the region. Forest nomads, such as the Sirionó and Nambikwara, primarily relied on the longbow, which could reach six feet in length, paired with barbed arrows measuring five to eight feet.1
  • Blowguns: Widely used in northwestern South America, the blowgun is a tubular weapon used primarily for hunting small game. These are constructed from materials like palm stems or carved wood and propel darts—often made from palm-leaf midribs—using human breath. To increase effectiveness against larger quarry, hunters apply curare, a paralytic poison, to the dart tips.2
  • Spears and Spear Throwers: The atlatl, or spear thrower, and various spears were also utilized to some extent for hunting.1

While the bow and arrow served both hunting and military purposes for many cultures, the blowgun was rarely employed in warfare.23