Laminated bow
Alaminated bowis an archerybowin which different materials arelaminatedtogether to form the bow stave itself. Traditionalcomposite bowsare normally not included, although their construction with horn, wood, and sinew might bring them within the above definition.
History
[edit]TheEgyptians,ScythiansandAssyrianshad been making laminate bows out of combinations of wood, horn and sinew as early as the 2nd millennium BCE.
The oldest known laminated bows (made entirely of wood) belong to theScythian cultures.A Scythian wood-laminate bow was discovered in the 19th century in Ukraine and is currently held at the Institute of Archaeology.[1]It was constructed by laminating several fine strips ofwillowandalderwood, bound withfish glueand wrapped inbirch bark.It had a double-curved shape, was 32 in (810 mm) long and may have been capable of firing arrows at distances of over 500 yd (460 m).[2]
In 2006, an international expedition to theAltai Mountainsregion in westernMongoliauncovered a laminate bow, associated with the ScythianPazyryk culture.It is of a complicated construction, with many fine strips of wood glued side-by-side, and a wooden reinforcement plate glued to the handle. The entire bow was wrapped in spiral form withrawhideand birch bark; in addition to reinforcing the construction this also made the bow resistant to water and humidity.[3]The bow is dated to the 3rd century BCE.
The modern Japaneseyumiis a laminated bow. Laminated bows in Japan first appeared around 1000 CE, during the lateHeianorKamakura period.They were made of wood and bamboo laminated with glue, evolving from simple bamboo-backed bows to complex bows of five piece construction (higo yumi) by the 1600s.[4]TheSámiand their neighbours[5]across northernEurasia[6]also made laminated bows for centuries.HejazArabs may also have used a laminated bow.[7]
Reading Museumis in the possession of anInuit-made laminate bow. It was made in thePelly Bayarea ofNunavut,Canada, and consists of three shims of bone laminated near the handle region, and reinforced at the joints with rawhide. It has two short driftwood arrows with bone points.[8]They reflect the shortage of wood in theArcticregion and the improvisation of pre-contact indigenous Inuit.
Further reading
[edit]- (1992)The Traditional Bowyers Bible Volume 1.The Lyons Press.ISBN1-58574-085-3
- (1992)The Traditional Bowyers Bible Volume 2.The Lyons Press.ISBN1-58574-086-1
- (1994)The Traditional Bowyers Bible Volume 3.The Lyons Press.ISBN1-58574-087-X
- How to make fiberglass-laminated modern bowsby John Clark, available fromAusbow Industries
- The Design and Construction of Composite Long (Flat) Bowsby John Clark
- The Design and Construction of Composite Recurve Bowsby John Clark (2002)
- Design and Construction of Flight Bows,a supplement toThe Design and Construction of Composite Recurve Bowsby John Clark
References
[edit]- ^Insulander, Ragnar (2002). "The two-wood bow".Acta Borealia.19(1): 49–73.doi:10.1080/08003830215543.S2CID144012834.
- ^The National Geographic Magazine, Volume 190.National Geographic Society. 1996. p. 66.
- ^Molodin, Vjaceslav; Parsinger, Hermann; Ceveemdorz, Durensuren; Garkusa, Jurij; Grisin, Artem (2008)."Das skythenzeitliche kriegergrab aus Olon-Kurin-Gol Neue Entdechungen in der Permafrostzone des mongolischen Altaj".Eurasia Antiqua:241–265.
- ^Green, Thomas; Svinth, Joseph (2010).Martial Arts of the World: An Encyclopedia of History and Innovation.ABC-CLIO. p. Q53.ISBN978-1598842449.
- ^Ragnar Insulander. The Two-Wood Bow.,Acta Borealia2002; 19: 49-73[permanent dead link]
- ^The Neolithic Age in Eastern Siberia. Henry N. Michael. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, New Ser., Vol. 48, No. 2 (1958), pp. 1-108.doi:10.2307/1005699
- ^Arab Archery. An Arabic manuscript of about A.D. 1500 "A book on the excellence of the bow & arrow" and the description thereof. Translated and edited by Nabih Amin Faris and Robert Potter Elmer. Princeton University Press, 1945.
- ^"Inuit bow and arrows".Reading Museum.
