When Inuinnait culture was first documented by anthropologists in the early 20th century, their bow building tradition included two wooden sinew-backed bow designs. The most common, and most difficult to make was the ihualik. This bow was constructed of three bent pieces of wood joined by splices that were glued with caribou blood, and wrapped in braided sinew together with a splint and a strip of seal skin. The braided sinew wrap at the joints formed part of the braided sinew backing which covered the entire back of the bow.