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They were important weapons of war from ancient history until the early modern period, when they were rendered increasingly obsolete by the development of the more powerful and accurate firearms. Today, bows and arrows are mostly used for hunting and sports. Archery is the art, practice, or skill of using bows to shoot arrows. [1]
Longbowmen archers of the Middle Ages.. Archery, or the use of bow and arrows, was probably developed in Africa by the later Middle Stone Age (approx. 70,000 years ago). It is documented as part of warfare and hunting from the classical period (where it figures in the mythologies of many cultures) [1] until the end of the 19th century, when bow and arrows was made functionally obsolete by the ...
The Chinese made bows from bamboo sticks while others who did not have the right kind of wood needed for making bows, produced composite bows. According to Chinese beliefs and mythology, a story is narrated and written in old Chinese texts which says how bow and arrow were invented. ONCE upon a time, Huangdi went out hunting armed with a stone ...
The arrows were made of pine and consisted of a main shaft and a 15–20 cm (5.9–7.9 in) fore shaft with a flint point. There are no definite earlier bows; previous pointed shafts are known, but may have been launched by spear-throwers rather than bows. The oldest bows known so far comes from the Holmegård swamp in Denmark.
Crossbows were mass-produced in state armouries with designs improving as time went on, such as the use of a mulberry wood stock and brass; a crossbow in 1068 AD could pierce a tree at 140 paces. [27] Crossbows were used in numbers as large as 50,000 starting from the Qin dynasty and upwards of several hundred thousand during the Han. [28]
There were enough bows to test some to destruction which resulted in draw forces of 100 lbf (450 N) on average. However, analysis of the wood indicated that they had degraded significantly in the seawater and mud, which had weakened their draw forces. Replicas were made and when tested had draw forces of from 100 to 185 lbf (445 to 823 N). [8]
Composite bows started appearing in Europe during the 13th century and could be made from layers of different material, often wood, horn, and sinew glued together and bound with animal tendon. These composite bows made of several layers are much stronger and more efficient in releasing energy than simple wooden bows. [1]
Composite bows were soon adopted and adapted by civilizations who came into contact with nomads, such as the Chinese, Assyrians, and Egyptians. Several composite bows were found in the tomb of Tutankhamun, who died in 1324 BCE. [13] Composite bows (and chariots) are known in China from at least the Shang dynasty (1600–1100 BCE). [14]