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Modern-day use of bows for hunting is a matter of controversy in some areas, but 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 usually take large game within 40 yards (metres) which requires the archer to stalk the game more closely without frightening it away. Bow hunting is also still practiced in traditional cultures worldwide.
HistoryThe bow seems to have been invented in the late Palaeolithic or early Mesolithic. The oldest indication for its use in Europe comes from the Stellmoor in the Ahrensburg valley north of Hamburg, Germany and date from the late Paleolithic Hamburgian culture (9000-8000 BC). The arrows were made of a pine 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.
Mesolithic pointed shafts have been found in England, Germany, Denmark and Sweden. They were often rather long (up to 120 cm [4 ft]) and made of hazel (Corylus avellana), wayfaring tree (Viburnum lantana) and chokecherry (Cornus alba). 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. Bows and arrows have been present in Egyptian culture since its predynastic origins. The nine bows symbolise the various peoples that had been ruled over by the pharaoh since Egypt was united. Most Neolithic European bows are made of yew. Ötzi the Iceman found in the Ötztaler Alps carried an unfinished yew longbow, with a bowstring of nettle or flax fibre. In the Levant, arrow-shaft straighteners are known from the Natufian culture, ca. 12.800-10.300 BP) onwards. The Khiamian and PPN A shouldered Khiam-points are most certainly 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. The bow became the main weapon of war used in the Middle East by 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 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 that people would practice archery. The development of gunpowder, muskets and the growing size of armies slowly led to the replacement of bows as weapons of war, causing them to be relegated to sport and hobby. See archery for the modern sport of shooting bows. Crossbows still see some use by special forces and assassins due to their comparative silence when compared with guns. Bows are found all over the world, except for Australia where the main projectile weapons were spears and boomerangs. Types of bowsComposite bowA composite bow is laminated from different materials to produce a bow. The Asiatic and North American traditional composite bows use horn on the belly and sinew on the back, often with a wooden core to provide a gluing surface. The bows are backed with sinew because it is very elastic. Sinew will also shrink and pull a bow into reflex. The horn on the belly is very strong in compression, and can handle a high draw weight without taking a set. These Asiatic bows were often highly recurved and reflexed, giving a short bow the ability to store lots of energy and shoot nearly as fast as a much longer bow. Modern, non traditional "composite" bows use laminated wood, plastic, and fiberglass. Hun bowThe Hun bow is an asymmetric, composite, reflex bow. It was invented in Central Asia and carried to Europe first by the Huns. Its asymmetric shape allowed the bow to be increased in size without restricting its use from the saddle of a horse. The lower part had to be shorter to facilitate movement across the back and neck of the horse, but the upper part was not so constrained and could be longer. The result was a stronger, longer-range bow than that of the Germanic tribes of Europe. Quite simply, the users of the Hun bow could shoot down their enemies before they could use their bows. The asymmetry, however, led to less accuracy, although this was offset to some extent by the fact that the weapon was a composite bow. The respect that the Goths had of the Hun bow was transmitted orally for a millennium among Germanic tribes and comes down to us in the Scandinavian Hervarar saga. The Geatish king Gizur who commands the Goth forces taunts the Huns and says: Eigi gera Húnar oss felmtraða né hornbogar yðrir. We fear neither the Huns nor their hornbows. Hungarian bowThe Hungarian bow, an improvement of the Hun bow for archers on foot, is a symmetric, composite reflex bow. It was invented in Central Asia. It improved on the Hun bow by lengthening its lower part until both halves were of equal size. This symmetry increased both its range and accuracy. If the archer was using the Hungarian bow while mounted, he or she needed to stand up on the saddle, an action that was impossible until the invention of the stirrup. See also composite bow. Korean bowA Korean bow, or sukgung, is a small but very powerful horn-bamboo-sinew composite bow. Korean archers can hit a target with this weapon from a great distance. A sukgung can shoot up to 600 meters. Archery was practiced strongly in Korea and many young males would spend their free time practicing it in Silla. In one contest, a man shot an arrow a range of 1073 meters. Mongol bowThe Mongol bow is the type most often referred to as the typical Asian recurve bow, made as a composite bow, from ibex or (more traditionally) water buffalo horn,sinew, birch wood and bark. The principal technical difference used to distinguish a "Mongol bow" from a "Hungarian bow" is the presence of a string "bridge" or "run"—an attachment of horn or wood, used to hold the string a little further apart from the bow's limbs. This attachment has been said to aid the archer by either creating a mechanical advantage at the end of the draw or giving an extra "snap" and acceleration to the string after the release. It is an interesting fact that during the time of Chinggis Khan's conquests, the mongol bows did not have string bridges yet. These were a later adoption from the Manchurian ("Qing dynasty") bows of northwestern China. The Mongolian tradition of archery is attested by an inscription on a stone stele that was found near Nerchinsk in Siberia: "While Chinggis Khan was holding an assembly of Mongolian dignitaries, after his conquest of Sartaul (East Turkestan), Esungge (the son of Genghis Khan's brother) shot a target at 335 alds (536 m)." Another example is given in the historic novel "Khökh Sudar" written by Injinashi, the Mongolian philosopher, historian and writer: he describes the competition amongst all Mongolian civil military men in about 1194 -1195. Dzulgetii, a 16-year-old man from Dzurgen Aimag (province), and 4 other archers each hit the target three times from a distance of 500 bows (1 bow = at least 1 meter). Until today, archery with traditional composite bows is part of the annual festival of the three virile sports (Wrestling, Horseriding, Archery), called "Naadam". Chinese bowImage:Zhangxian02.jpg Zhangxian shooting peddle bow There are three types of Chinese bow:
Perso-Parthian bowThe Perso-Parthian bow is a symmetric recurve composite bow made of ibex horn (or for low quality bows, ox horn); a variety of wood cores; gazelle, deer, or ox sinews; and usually hide glue. These bows are highly tensioned. The "arms" of the bow are supposed to cross each other when the bow is unstrung. The finished bow is then covered by bark, fine leather, or in some cases shark skin, to keep out moisture. Traditionally, ox tendons are considered inferior to wild game sinews since they have a higher fat content, leading to spoilage. Perso-Parthian bows were in use as late as 1820s in Persia (ancient Iran). They were then replaced by muskets. Bow making technology improved, but the fundamentals remained the same for millenia. Iranian people who migrated from Central Asia and Southern Europe and settled modern Iran, brought horse archery and improved composite bows to the Middle East. Aryan nomads such as Scythians, Sakas, and Sarmatians were skilled archers. Parthians, originally a Scythian tribe, were famed horse archers. Using Perso-Parthian bows, Parthians inflicted several devastating defeats on Romans, the first being the Battle of Carrhae. Alexander the Great may be the only general in history who defeated a large army of horse archers on his first encounter. Compound bowA compound bow is a modern bow that has pulleys or cams at the end of each limb through which the bow string passes. As the bow is drawn, the pulleys or cams turn, which in turn changesthe leverage of the bows' limbs. They are normally made to give a high resistance in the middle of the draw, and significant "let-off" at the end; this enables the bow to store a lot of energy while still being easy to hold and aim at full draw. They are little affected by changes in temperature or humidity and will give high speed at a lower draw weight compared to the simple bow. Unlike traditional bows, compound bows are always made of modern materials such as aluminium and carbon fiber. They were first developed and patented by Holless Wilbur Allen in the USA in the 1960s and have become increasingly popular. With a traditional bow, the force required to draw the bow increases as the bow is drawn. This limits the total amount of energy and means that when the archer is at full draw and aiming, they have to hold the maximum draw weight of the bow. CrossbowThe crossbow is a small bow attached to a wooden support and drawn towards a nut or pin. When a trigger is pressed, the pin or nut releases the bow string, shooting the arrow. The crossbow required little effort to shoot, but early on took great strength to load, though this was solved by adding a windlass or crank. Another means of loading the crossbow was to use a small hook attached to the belt of the archer. The archer would then hold the crossbow still by slipping his foot into a foothold at the tip of the bow. He then pulled the bowstring back by placing the hook in the crossbow's string and standing up. This permitted the shooter to use his legs, instead of his arms, to pull back the string. This method was not long-lived in European land warfare, however, because the crossbow was soon after replaced by the musket. The oldest remains of crossbows are found in East Asia and date back to 2000 BCE. Some crossbows are known as a bowgun. They launch stones or lead. This Chinese invention dates back to at least 300 BCE. ArbalestAn arbalest is a large, powerful crossbow with a bow (prod) of steel, rather than of wood or horn/sinew composite. The Hussites were famous for their arbalest archers. BallistaA ballista is a torsion spring crossbow. Depending on size, it was used as a siege weapon or sniper weapon. It has a high degree of efficiency because of the low inertia of the torsion springs, but efficiency decreases if operated under humid conditions and needs permanent anointment. It was usually operated by one (the "Scorpion" ballista) to three men. It shoots large arrows or stones. Nowadays, ballista-bows have been constructed. LongbowLongbows were ideally made from yew, Italian yew being the best, but white woods elm, ash, hazel and brazil (sp) were commonly used due to availability. Longbows were often built to be as tall as the archer and a well made bow could shoot well in excess of 300 yards (275 meters) using flight arrows. The most famous example is the English longbow, carried by English armies to great effect in the Hundred Years' War. At this time it was called the "war bow." At close range the longbow was capable of penetrating all but the very best plate armor of the time. At distance, groups of archers would loose mass volleys on a high, arching trajectory at enemy formations. The arrows used were very heavy, 1 ounce (28 grams) or more, with narrow heavy bodkin pointed heads and thick arrows often made of ash. This style of bow was used up until the time of the English Civil War but was almost completely replaced by the musket, mostly because of the years of training involved with archery. FlatbowThe limbs of a flatbow have a rectangular cross-section, rather than curved or "crowned" as with a longbow. The typical modern flatbow is made from a whitewood such as ash, hickory, hazel, or oak, with limbs about 2 inches (5 cm) wide, tapering in the last outer third of the limbs to ½-inch (1 cm) nocks. It is often made about 66 inches (1.67 m) long and tillered elliptically, with good potential for high draw weights. This is a great design of bow because it allows anyone to make a bow with little expense; many whitewoods are cheap and plentiful, whereas yew and osage are expensive and the supply of good material is limited. YumiA yumi is a Japanese longbow used in the practice of kyudo (Japanese archery). Traditionally made from a laminate of bamboo, wood and leather, yumi are of asymmetrical design, with the grip positioned at about one-third the distance from the lower tip. It is believed the asymmetric shape was designed for use on horseback, allowing the bow to be more easily moved from one side of the horse to the other. Unlike most archery disciplines, the yumi was not drawn with fingers alone, but with a ridge on the thumb of the leather glove worn on the back hand. This meant that the weight of the draw or pull of the bow was not limited to the finger strength of the shooter. Instead, a more relaxed and holistic technique was developed and the yumi was drawn not just with the arm, but with the whole breath and being of the archer or kyudoka. The arrow was often nocked to the "wrong" side or far side of the bow to allow quicker setting of the arrow and the string was released not by relaxing the hand, but by altering the posture of the back hand wrist, allowing the string to slip over the ridge of the glove. (The thumb becomes part of a rigid frame with the wrist piece, effectively negating finger strength in the process of shooting.) A disadvantage that causes problems more for the female archers, if the glove or yugake is damaged and the thumb and wrist became excessively articulated, the archer may have to endure pain while drawing, or indeed be unable to draw their bow. See alsoBow construction techniquesBow formsReferences
(Oldenburg 1996).
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