Hunting Bow Question
Since the common bow in Eurasia was wood and sinew w/out horn; I was wondering if anyone has made one and how it shoots.
I'd love to see a picture. :)
I'd love to see a picture. :)
Tamr,
That is a pretty broad statement. Eurasia covers the whole Europe and Asia. I would imagine that there is nothing that could be called a common bow for that area.
If you are talking about Northern Eurasia (i.e. the area north of the Baltic states) including northern Siberia, then it does appear that wooden bellies were fairly common and sinew backing was known.
In America, sinew backed wooden bows are well known and books have been written about their construction.
I think several bowyers who contribute to this forum have made bows of this type.
That is a pretty broad statement. Eurasia covers the whole Europe and Asia. I would imagine that there is nothing that could be called a common bow for that area.
If you are talking about Northern Eurasia (i.e. the area north of the Baltic states) including northern Siberia, then it does appear that wooden bellies were fairly common and sinew backing was known.
In America, sinew backed wooden bows are well known and books have been written about their construction.
I think several bowyers who contribute to this forum have made bows of this type.
Thanks Bede,
I mean bows used in Central Asia by Kipchak to Tatar and Russian. Still broad but that is what I am thinking about.
Common as in every day bow for hunting and playin around.
Do they look the same as horn bow except no horn?
Would love to see.
I mean bows used in Central Asia by Kipchak to Tatar and Russian. Still broad but that is what I am thinking about.
Common as in every day bow for hunting and playin around.
Do they look the same as horn bow except no horn?
Would love to see.
Tamir. I do not think it an exaggeration to state that common, everyday bows were wood bows. Because of the difficulty in construction, time involved and cost, composite bows were used for warfare and the exercises associated with warfare of warrior types. Even those persons would own wood bows.
Take king Tut for instance. He owned many bows, could have anything that a person could want. He was buried with both composites and wood bows. From the neolithic to the modern wood bows are represented in artwork.
Russian archaeologists refer to wood bows as "segment" bows, probably because they are represented in artwork as being a segment of a circle when bent.
It is surprisingly difficult to identify horn in the oldest of archaeological remains as it deteriorates faster than wood and also "hydrolises", combines with moisture, and breaks down into an unrecognisable substance.
Among the Navajo Indians of N. America there are two words for bow. A composite is translated as war bow and a wood bow as hunting bow.
There is usually a recognisable difference in profile between composites and wood self bows, though there is still a discussion.
-j-
Take king Tut for instance. He owned many bows, could have anything that a person could want. He was buried with both composites and wood bows. From the neolithic to the modern wood bows are represented in artwork.
Russian archaeologists refer to wood bows as "segment" bows, probably because they are represented in artwork as being a segment of a circle when bent.
It is surprisingly difficult to identify horn in the oldest of archaeological remains as it deteriorates faster than wood and also "hydrolises", combines with moisture, and breaks down into an unrecognisable substance.
Among the Navajo Indians of N. America there are two words for bow. A composite is translated as war bow and a wood bow as hunting bow.
There is usually a recognisable difference in profile between composites and wood self bows, though there is still a discussion.
-j-
Tamr,
The surviving bows from the northern belt of Eurasia often have longer limbs than the corresponding horn bellied bows and shorter ears. There have been parts of bows excavated around Novgorod which showed wooden bellies and sinew backs. I have seen these published in the old magazine Soviet Archaeology.
There is a series of wall carvings in Egypt showing a young boy first being taught to shoot with a wooden bow and then an older boy shooting with a composite bow. The expense of a composite bow meant that not everyone owned one and some cultures had greater access to horn than others which affected the relative expense of a bow.
One alternative was to use strips of narrower horn like Persian and Indo-Persian bows. This was also know in North-West China. The Korean made both sinew-bamboo-horn composites and sinew-bamboo-wood composites. The Qing in China made sinew and bamboo composites as well as the better known horn composites.
One surviving Mongol bow of the 17th century was a horn and sinew hunting bow showing that there was a mix of types depending on availability of materials. There was a lot of game on the Eurasian Steppes and that probably meant access to more horn that in some of the neighboring areas. I am not sure of the fauna in the taiga forests.
The surviving bows from the northern belt of Eurasia often have longer limbs than the corresponding horn bellied bows and shorter ears. There have been parts of bows excavated around Novgorod which showed wooden bellies and sinew backs. I have seen these published in the old magazine Soviet Archaeology.
There is a series of wall carvings in Egypt showing a young boy first being taught to shoot with a wooden bow and then an older boy shooting with a composite bow. The expense of a composite bow meant that not everyone owned one and some cultures had greater access to horn than others which affected the relative expense of a bow.
One alternative was to use strips of narrower horn like Persian and Indo-Persian bows. This was also know in North-West China. The Korean made both sinew-bamboo-horn composites and sinew-bamboo-wood composites. The Qing in China made sinew and bamboo composites as well as the better known horn composites.
One surviving Mongol bow of the 17th century was a horn and sinew hunting bow showing that there was a mix of types depending on availability of materials. There was a lot of game on the Eurasian Steppes and that probably meant access to more horn that in some of the neighboring areas. I am not sure of the fauna in the taiga forests.