Bow (weapon)

A bow is a weapon that projects arrows powered by the elasticity of the bow. As the bow is drawn, energy is stored in the limbs of the bow and transformed into rapid motion when the string is released, with the string transferring this force to the arrow. The bow is used for hunting and sport (target shooting), and in historical times it was a weapon of war.

The technique of using a bow is called archery. Someone who makes bows is known as a bowyer, and one who makes arrows a fletcher. Together with the atlatl and the sling, the bow was one of the first ranged weapons or hunting tools which used mechanical principles, instead of relying solely on the strength of its user.

Many bow designs have been used in different cultures and time periods. Common designs include the widespread long bows (Europe, North and South America, Africa and Asia), short bows (South African Bushmen), laminated wood (Japanese and Sami bows), sinew-backed bows (common in North America), and the horn-wood-sinew composite, (Eurasian nomads, also used for centuries in the Middle East, the later Roman Empire, China, Korea, and India). In modern times, the recurve and compound bows dominate for sport and hunting practices. Newer materials, including flexible plastics, fiberglass, and carbon fibers, have led to increases in range and projectile velocity.

Modern-day use of bows for hunting is a matter of controversy in some areas but is common and accepted in others. Modern hunters are often drawn to bow-hunting because it generally requires more practice and skill than taking game with a firearm. While modern rifles allow hunters to shoot large game (such as deer or elk) at distances of 100 yards (metres) or more, archers must usually take large game within 40 yards (metres); thus the archer must stalk the game more closely without frightening it away. Bow hunting is also still practiced in traditional cultures worldwide.

History

Rama breaking Shiva’s bow at Sita’s Swayamvara in Mithila, by Raja Ravi Varma (1848–1906)

The bow was likely invented in the late Paleolithic or early Mesolithic. The oldest indication for its use in Europe comes from the Stellmoor in the Ahrensburg valley north of Hamburg, Germany and from the Grotte dell’Addaura in Italy, dates from the late Paleolithic (9th millennium BC). The arrows were made of pine wood and consisted of a mainshaft and a 15–20 centimetre (6–8 inches) long foreshaft with a flint point. There are no known definite earlier bows; previous pointed shafts are known but may have been launched by atlatls rather than bows.

The usage of bows in warfare is described in the Indian epics Ramayana and Mahabharata.

The oldest bows known come from the Holmegård Fen, or swamp in Denmark. In the 1940s, two bows were found there. They are made of elm and have flat arms and a D-shaped midsection. The center section is biconvex. The complete bow is 1.50 m (5 ft) long. Bows of Holmegaard type were in use until the Bronze Age; the convexity of the midsection has decreased with time.

Mesolithic pointed shafts have been found in Italy, England, Germany, Denmark and Sweden. They were often rather long (up to 120 cm [4 ft]) and made of hazel, wayfaring tree, and other woody shoots. Some still have flint arrow-heads preserved; others have blunt wooden ends for hunting birds and small game. The ends show traces of fletching, which was fastened on with birch-tar.

The “Levantine” style of rock art, once dated to the Paleolithic but now thought to be early Neolithic,^[1] includes pictures of archers, such as the Cova dels Cavalls [2] in La Valltorta, declared a World Heritage site in 1924.^[2] One petroglyph of the Levantine style has been dated to approximately 5000 BC.^[3]

Self bows and arrows have been present in Egyptian culture since its predynastic origins, with “The Nine Bows” being a term for the various neighbours and enemies of Egypt[3]. Egyptian composite bows are known from the ancient tombs, some dating from the early New Kingdom, indicating possible introduction by the Hyksos. Some bows from Tutankhamun’s tomb were composite bows, others self bows.^[4]

Most Neolithic European bows are made of yew. Ötzi the Iceman, an Italian cave-man found in the Ötztaler Alps of Italy carried an unfinished yew longbow, with a bowstring of nettle or flax fibre.

In the Levant, artifacts which may be arrow-shaft straighteners are known from the Natufian culture onwards. The Khiamian and Pre-Pottery Neolithic A shouldered Khiam-points may well be arrowheads.

Native Americans used longbows (especially on the east coast) and flatbows (especially on the west coast), often recurved, made from various hardwood species, such as hickory. Likewise, the Fenno-Ugrian nations in Eurasia have traditionally used ash, maple, or elm flatbows. The bow was a late invention in the Americas.

Archers, also armed with spears, detail from the archers’ frieze in Darius’ palace, Susa.

The bow became the main weapon of war of the Assyrians and Egyptians, whose warriors shot it on the ground and from chariots to great effect. War chariots fell entirely out of fashion by approximately the beginning of the Common Era, but development of horse archers by the people of the Eurasian Steppe, brought highly mobile archers back to the fore. Using composite bows, steppe peoples such as the Scythians, Huns, Turks, and Mongols became a dominant force.

In the Middle Ages, European powers made effective use of the longbow as a major weapon of war. It was an extremely effective weapon in battle and could penetrate armor from a considerable distance. The longbow however is a difficult weapon to master and requires years of training for effective use in war. A longbow which can pierce later medieval armour also requires a very strong man to draw it. In Medieval England and Wales, the longbow became a popular weapon, and archery was a popular pastime. When the quality of English archery began to decline in the 16th century, English monarchs went so far as to mandate by law longbow training for males of military age and placed restrictions on other physical sports such as football and ninepins so people would practice.

The development of gunpowder, muskets, and the growing size of armies (and their consequent demand for less-trained levies) slowly led to the replacement of bows as weapons of war, supplanted by firearms, which were simpler for conscripts to learn and use, causing bows to be relegated to sport and hobby use.