In the history of mankind there were several significant discoveries and inventions that had an incredible impact on the development of human society. The first such significant discovery was fire. The next important event in the history of mankind is the invention of bow and arrow. This forgotten weapon fundamentally changed the life of all mankind, who became its discoverer and inventor, we will never know. But this man left a significant mark in the history of our civilization.
In this post I'll tell you about the evolution of the development of this weapon.
Since the bow was invented even in the Stone Age, the first tips used by people were made of stone and bone, but there are none in my collection. After people got acquainted with metals, the first metal tips appeared, it was copper. Ancient masters made such tips by cold forging from copper nuggets. In the early bronze epoch, bronze points appear. Initially, they were flat and also produced by the method of cold forging (in the photo they are numbered 1 and 2). These are typical tips of the Koban archaeological culture, they are almost 3000 years old, but, despite their venerable age, many of them are still very sharp and they can be cut easily by touch. Such tips are found in the Caucasus, gradually the technology has improved and bronze tips made by casting have appeared, one of the first such technologies was mastered by the Cimmerians in the 8th-7th century BC (typical Cimmerian tip at number 3), they usually had a sharp spike in the rear part, so that it would not be possible to easily extract it from the body of the victim. In the future, this technology was adopted and improved by the Scythians, their tips have become just perfect (they are numbered 4-5 on the photo). But the age of the Scythians was short, the coming Sarmatian tribes had already mastered iron, the tips and swords of the Sarmatians were iron, they drove out the Scythians and bronze tips.
The first iron tips were much stronger than bronze ones, at number 7 one of such early iron tips. In the age of iron, the technology of metal processing changed, the iron tips were of different shapes and varied in purpose. The easiest way to divide them into tips for hunting and for war, the so-called armor piercing, which were created to break through the armor of the enemy. In the photo under numbers 7,8,9, typical tips for hunting large game are presented, they are usually called slices. Combat points are a separate story, their forms were huge. There were even very unusual whistling tips that were supposed to have a psychological effect on the enemy, such a tip at number 10. Especially in the technology of making the tips, the Yenisei Kyrgyz people succeeded, their hipped tips are a real work of art and indeed the vertex of evolution.
