In the impression of many people, bows and arrows seem to be made of bamboo, but in fact, this is not the case, bamboo is not the only material for bows and arrows, nor is it the best choice.
The oldest surviving bows and arrows are two elm bows and arrows unearthed in Denmark, which are about 8,000 years old. In addition, in Spain, archaeologists have also excavated a single bow about 7400 years ago, and its material. The well-known purple shirt wood is used.
That is to say, these ancient bows and arrows basically did not use bamboo as the main material, as did the West, as did the nomadic peoples such as the Xiongnu.
So why did bamboo, which is very elastic, not become the main material for making bows and arrows? What materials did ancient people use to make bows and arrows?
When it comes to the bow and arrow, there are many legends about it, there are stories of houyi shooting sun in ancient times, and in the mythological system of the mainland, there are several characters who use bows and arrows, like shaohao Qingyang, the son of the Yellow Emperor, who was given the surname "Zhang" because of the creation of the bow and arrow.
Similarly, in the Western mythological system, there are many stories about bows and arrows, such as the greek hero Agnes, who was shot by a bow and arrow and died, including the story of Robin Hood, a sharpshooter in Britain.
bow and arrow
It can be seen that the bow and arrow occupied an important position in the ancient civilizations of the East and the West, because its emergence brought far-reaching influence to the world at that time.
Why was the bow and arrow so unique in ancient times? In fact, to put it simply, the invention of the bow and arrow allowed weak humans in ancient times to be in a relatively safe position to hunt, which greatly increased the chances of human survival.
In the era of cold weapons, the bow and arrow that can output damage at a long distance is undoubtedly the highest light character on the battlefield, and it is also the peak existence in the history of human cold weapons.
So, what materials were used for ancient bows and arrows?
According to the pre-Qin document "Record of Examination Workers", in ancient times, to make a good bow and arrow, it was very exquisite in the selection of materials, and there were about seven main materials to choose from.
The first is called garnet wood, commonly known as mulberry tree, is a kind of mulberry plant, in ancient times in the mainland is a very valuable wood, but because of the sound of mulberry mourning, therefore, although it is expensive, but few people use it to make furniture.
Garnet wood
Although it cannot be made of furniture, mulberry wood is both heavy and hard, and it is extremely resistant to pressure and bending, so it has become the first choice for making bows and arrows.
The second is called beeberi, which is also known as "banzai wood", and its wood is hard and has good resilience, so it is also one of the materials for making bows and arrows.
In addition, there are mountain mulberry, orange, papaya and thorn wood, which are the main materials that can be used in ancient times to make bows and arrows, because of their different wood characteristics, so the performance of the bows and arrows produced is also different.
At the bottom of the list is the bamboo we are familiar with.
Why is bamboo in the last place? Could it be that ancient bamboo was rare? In fact, it is not, ancient bamboo was very common, and there are even countries named after bamboo.
In the early days of the establishment of the Shang Dynasty, there was a lone bamboo state in the north, this country was a princely regime, a kingdom of the Shang Dynasty royal family with the same blood and mo surname as the king, and in the territory of this country, a large amount of bamboo once grew.
In addition, in the ancient Yellow River Valley, that is, the Central Plains, there were giant pandas, so there was also a large amount of bamboo here at that time.
bamboo
Since it is not a rare species, why is bamboo the best choice for making bows and arrows?
In fact, it is still the problem of the material of the bamboo itself, the bamboo itself is too elastic, it is easy to cause poor stability, in addition, the thickness of the bamboo piece is limited, and the bamboo fiber material is loose, which directly leads to the low damage of the bamboo bow, and the texture of the bamboo is unstable, it is easy to suffer from moisture dry cracking, so the service life is not long, and it will be scrapped after a few times.
Therefore, in many of the wood for making bows and arrows, bamboo is not the best choice, only the southern area rich in bamboo, will be used to make bows and arrows, in addition, in ancient times when the scale of warfare is getting larger and larger, the demand for bows and arrows is also increasing, will choose to use bamboo, after all, bamboo is widespread, and the cost is low, that is, no matter how much consumption is not painful.
So, what did the Huns and other nomadic peoples use to make bows and arrows?
As mentioned earlier, in ancient times, there were many high-quality materials to choose from to make a good bow, although these materials may be rare in the Central Plains, but for nomadic peoples, it is not new.
In the case of the Xiongnu, the Xiongnu of the Qin and Han Dynasties, at their peak, ruled most of the north, including the large and small Xing'an Mountains and the Tianshan region of Xinjiang.
Guarding the mountains, it is natural that all kinds of trees are indispensable, and those high-quality timbers that are rare in the Central Plains are everywhere here, and the Huns naturally do not lack materials for making bows and arrows.
In addition, after several generations of actual combat research, the nomadic people found that on a single material bow and arrow, plus animal bones, horns, skin, tendons, etc., can greatly improve the range and lethality of the bow and arrow, so the horn bow was born.
The so-called horn bow is a composite bow and arrow made by using the animal's horn as the main body of the bow and arrow, and after a complex process, it is then wrapped with the animal's animal tendons and other items.
The characteristics of this bow and arrow are long service life, and in terms of stability, accuracy and lethality, it has been greatly improved than wooden bows and arrows, and the strength of the bow body is very high, which fully meets the needs of nomadic riding and shooting.
When making a horn bow, the best main material is rhino horn, but rhino horn is relatively rare, so it is replaced by cow and sheep horn.
Among them, buffalo horn is a good choice, buffalo horn texture is tough, excellent elasticity, contains grease, not easy to dry and crack, with its made of bows, basically are good bows.
Buffalo Horn
However, the buffalo is an animal that only exists in the south and rarely in the north, so for a long time, the buffalo horn was a strategic material, and successive Central Plains dynasties would also strictly control the buffalo horn trade to prevent it from flowing into the hands of nomads.
In general, the ancient Xiongnu and nomadic peoples, when making bows and arrows, are basically local materials, what is used, can be made of animal materials to make a horn bow, if not, choose a wooden bow, and the wooden bow due to the different types of trees, so it also caused a variety of materials for the bow body, but using bamboo to make a bow and arrow is not the best choice, which is a long-term consensus reached by nomads.
A bow and arrow may seem simple, but in ancient times it represented the overall strength of the state and the nation.
As we all know, the production process of bows and arrows is very complicated, first of all, the main materials of good bows, such as garnet wood, mulberry wood, etc. The growth cycle is relatively long, if you want to make bows and arrows in large quantities, you need to plant and cultivate them.
In addition, the processing process is cumbersome, from the shaping of the bow body, to the fit of the composite material, as well as the production and installation of strings and arrows, all need to be carried out by skilled people, and the cultivation of a skilled production hand also requires a lot of time, as well as manpower and material resources.
For example, from the collection of tendons after animal slaughter, to the initial treatment, to the solidification of the form, and finally to the molding, the process is very complicated and the time is quite long.
In addition, there are arrows, which involve smelting, forging and other processes, which also require very professional workers to operate.
That is to say, there are many processes behind the molding of a good bow, and each process is carried out by professional people, and these professional bow and arrow makers need various guarantees, such as food, clothing, housing, and transportation.
Therefore, in ancient times, the number of bows and arrows owned by a country or nation determined the military strength of the country or nation, and the high and low production capabilities directly reflected their comprehensive strength.
For example, the ancient nomads, the reason why they often invaded the Central Plains Dynasty, was because of their own shortage of various materials, like the arrows on the bow and arrow, which were their scarce metal raw materials.
Therefore, they would from time to time go south to invade the border, the purpose is to loot all kinds of strategic materials, and the raw materials of the bow and arrow are one of their biggest targets.
After all, they know that the bow and arrow in the era of cold weapons, can be said to be an invincible existence, relying on the bow and arrow, the nomadic people can compete with the Central Plains Dynasty for hundreds of years, but also rely on the bow and arrow, the Mongols will conquer the world.
It was only after the emergence of firearms with greater lethality and easier to carry that the bow and arrow gradually withdrew from the stage of history and gradually evolved into a sport today.
But the once glorious bow and arrow exist in the corners and corners of the historical data.
In the ancient north, it is not completely free of bamboo, once the northeast region, as well as the Yellow River Valley, there was a large number of bamboo survival, therefore, the ancient Xiongnu will also use bamboo to make bows and arrows, but because the material advantages of bamboo are not large, and the lethality is low, will let the Xiongnu use materials such as high-quality wood and animal bones, but the bamboo bow is still one of the most equipped and used weapons in ancient times, after all, it is cheap and affordable, and the processing is simple.