Nonreturn Boomerangs in Baja California Norte

Subsistence employment of nonreturn boomerangs is nearing extinction in North America. However, some Paipai (Santa Catarina) and Tipai (La Huerta), continue to carve rabbit sticks and to sell many of them in the tourist/ethnic arts markets. Persons involved in crafting rabbit sticks provided this ethnographic study with traditional knowledge regarding manufacture, use, and belief surrounding the weapon. Ethnographic accounts about this hunting implement indicate an importance that would be difficult to document with the archaeological data.