Components of the Bow and Arrow

The first bows were made of a single piece of wood or bamboo bent into a string of animal sinews, strips of leather, or hemp, and the first arrows were just thin wooden or bamboo sticks sharpened to a point, which was described as "stringing the wood for the arc, and helicoptering the wood for the arrow" in Yi - Xiangliu. Many ethnic minorities in remote areas of China used similar bows and arrows at the turn of the century. The Hezhe people of the lower Songhua River made bows out of the "Shuiku Pear" tree (which they called "Buleken"), and after trimming it into shape, they bent it and tied it with strings made of fish fat or deer tendons. Outer Xing'anling Oroqen people, with a single larch or elm manufacturing bow body, deer jail sinew for the string, arrows made of birch, earlier just the end of the wooden pole sharpened, and later there is a stone arrowhead and bone arrowhead, and in the end of the arrow pinned with the swan or goose plume. Bamboo arrows used by some ethnic minorities in the southwest, only the front of the thin bamboo stick trimmed into a spike, the tail inserted bamboo leaves folded into the feathers, in order to improve the lethality, or in the arrow blade carved out of a spiral shallow groove, dipped in poison.

The compound bow consists of three parts, wood, horn and tendon. The unstrung compound bow curves outward, and the back of the bow (the side facing the target) is made of wood. The back of the bow also consists of three parts: a pair of arms and a bow sight. Most of the wooden parts are made of maple, dogwood, or mulberry, or a combination of woods.

Gold and silver silk satin weapon case 37cm weapon length 76cm quiver length

The face of the bow (the side facing the archer)

was made of horn, which was used to strengthen the arms. Nomads would use buffalo horn or wild goat horn. Because buffalo horns are more flexible and longer than the horns of other animals, buffalo horns are the most popular among the nomads. Nomads will use fish glue to stick the tendon of the animal's leg (from cattle, deer, etc.) to the back part of the wooden bow. The reason for this is that the tendon is like a rubber band, which can quickly return to its original position after being pulled, greatly speeding up the flight of the arrow. The end of a pair of wooden bow arms was equipped with a bow end. Most historians believe this to be a Hun invention. The ends of the bow increased the momentum of the bowstring and reduced the force needed to pull the string, making arrows fired from compound bows more lethal.

Bowstrings

Nomads used animal tendons, horsehair, or grapevines to make strings. The Scythians even made strings from cow intestines. As for the Turks, they were famous for their silk strings.

Arrows

Most of the arrows made by the nomadic peoples of the steppes had pins in the arrowheads, unlike the fletched arrowheads that were popular in Europe. Some historians suggest this was for self-defense. If the arrowhead was simply inserted into the shaft, it would reduce the ability of the shaft to absorb the impact, and the shaft would break easily, so the mounted archers were able to prevent their opponents from using their own arrows to counterattack. However, materials suitable for making arrow shafts were in short supply in the steppes, and it is unlikely that nomads would waste a lot of arrows in self-defense. A more plausible explanation is that the method of making this arrowhead is not only simple, but also takes less time, which is good for nomads who have little manpower and material resources.

Arrow shafts were usually made from reed stalks or bamboo, while birch and dogwood were also used to make arrow shafts. Feathers from waterfowl, such as geese and ducks, were also used. Arrow shafts have two to four feathers to stabilize the arrow in flight.

Drawing Tools

The bow rider would wear a thumb ring (or trigger finger) to prevent his thumb from being cut by the string. Nomads of the mid-latitude steppes made thumb rings from skin, bone, horn, metal, or stone. In order to speed up archery, the inner side of the thumb ring usually had a groove or recess to hold the string.

Bow pouches and quivers

The Scythian archer would combine a bow pouch with a quiver, called a gorytos. The gorytos had a pouch on the front side that was designed to hold arrows. Sesian mounted archers used hooks to suspend the gorytos from their belts. Early Sarmatians used this design.