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39-536: The name comes from the Sanskrit words धनुर (dhanura) meaning " bow ", and आसन (āsana) meaning "posture" or "seat". A similar pose named Nyubjasana, "the face-down asana", is described and illustrated in the 19th century Sritattvanidhi . The pose is illustrated in half-tone in the 1905 Yogasopana Purvacatuska and named Dhanurāsana, quoting the Gheranda Samhita' s description. It is unclear whether

78-437: A bow is called a bowman or an archer. Someone who makes bows is known as a bowyer , someone who makes arrows is a fletcher , and someone who manufactures metal arrowheads is an arrowsmith. A bow consists of a semi- rigid but elastic arc with a high-tensile bowstring joining the ends of the two limbs of the bow. An arrow is a projectile with a pointed tip and a long shaft with stabilizer fins ( fletching ) towards

117-440: A bow with the body, with the arms representing the bowstring . Balasana can be used as a counter pose. Variations include: Counter asanas are Halasana and Sarvangasana . Bow (archery) The bow and arrow is a ranged weapon system consisting of an elastic launching device (bow) and long-shafted projectiles (arrows). Humans used bows and arrows for hunting and aggression long before recorded history , and

156-487: A mechanical system of pulley cams over which the bowstring is wound. Nylon is useful only in emergency situations, as it stretches too much. There is no single accepted system of classification of bows. Bows may be described by various characteristics including the materials used, the length of the draw that they permit, the shape of the bow in sideways view, and the shape of the limb in cross-section. Commonly-used descriptors for bows include: Quiver A quiver

195-471: A modern bow are a pair of curved elastic limbs , traditionally made from wood , joined by a riser. However self bows such as the English longbow are made of a single piece of wood comprising both limbs and the grip. The ends of each limb are connected by a string known as the bow string . By pulling the string backwards the archer exerts compression force on the string-facing section, or belly , of

234-414: A nocking point marked on them, which serves to mark where the arrow is fitted to the bowstring before shooting. The area around the nocking point is usually bound with thread to protect the area around the nocking point from wear by the archer's hands. This section is called the serving. At one end of the bowstring a loop is formed, which is permanent. The other end of the bowstring also has a loop, but this

273-420: A small stiff pouch that only covers the first few inches. The Bayeux Tapestry shows that most bowmen in medieval Europe used belt quivers. Back quivers are secured to the archer's back by leather straps, with the nock ends protruding above the dominant hand's shoulder. Arrows can be drawn over the shoulder rapidly by the nock. This style of quiver was used by native peoples of North America and Africa, and

312-535: A stiff end on the limb end, having the effect of a recurve. In this type of bow, this is known by the Arabic name 'siyah'. Modern construction materials for bows include laminated wood, fiberglass , metals , and carbon fiber components. An arrow usually consists of a shaft with an arrowhead attached to the front end, with fletchings and a nock at the other. Modern arrows are usually made from carbon fibre, aluminum, fiberglass, and wood shafts. Carbon shafts have

351-751: A weapon of tribal warfare in some parts of Sub-Saharan Africa ; an example was documented in 2009 in Kenya when Kisii people and Kalenjin people clashed, resulting in four deaths. The British upper class led a revival of archery as a sport in the late 18th century. Sir Ashton Lever , an antiquarian and collector, formed the Toxophilite Society in London in 1781, under the patronage of George IV , then Prince of Wales . Bows and arrows have been rarely used by modern special forces for survival and clandestine operations. The basic elements of

390-504: Is a container for holding arrows or bolts . It can be carried on an archer's body, the bow, or the ground, depending on the type of shooting and the archer's personal preference. Quivers were traditionally made of leather, wood, furs, and other natural materials, but are now often made of metal or plastic. The English word quiver has its origins in Old French , written as quivre, cuevre, or coivre. The most common style of quiver

429-402: Is a flat or cylindrical container suspended from the belt. They are found across many cultures from North America to China. Many variations of this type exist, such as being canted forwards or backwards, and being carried on the dominant hand side, off-hand side, or the small of the back. Some variants enclose almost the entire arrow, while minimalist "pocket quivers" consist of little more than

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468-401: Is able to project heavier arrows at the same velocity or the same arrow at a greater velocity. The various parts of the bow can be subdivided into further sections. The topmost limb is known as the upper limb, while the bottom limb is the lower limb. At the tip of each limb is a nock, which is used to attach the bowstring to the limbs. The riser is usually divided into the grip, which is held by

507-405: Is attributed by archaeological association. The bow was an important weapon for both hunting and warfare from prehistoric times until the widespread use of gunpowder weapons in the 16th century. It was also common in ancient warfare , although certain cultures would not favor them. Greek poet Archilocus expressed scorn for fighting with bows and slings . The skill of Nubian archers

546-474: Is called stringing the bow. The oldest known evidence of the bow and arrow comes from South African sites such as Sibudu Cave , where likely arrowheads have been found, dating from approximately 72,000–60,000 years ago. The earliest probable arrowheads found outside of Africa were discovered in 2020 in Fa Hien Cave , Sri Lanka . They have been dated to 48,000 years ago. "Bow-and-arrow hunting at

585-420: Is called a quiver . When not in use, bows are generally kept unstrung , meaning one or both ends of the bowstring are detached from the bow. This removes all residual tension on the bow and can help prevent it from losing strength or elasticity over time. Many bow designs also let it straighten out more completely, reducing the space needed to store the bow. Returning the bowstring to its ready-to-use position

624-742: Is not permanently formed into the bowstring but is constructed by tying a knot into the string to form a loop. Traditionally this knot is known as the archer's knot, but is a form of the timber hitch . The knot can be adjusted to lengthen or shorten the bowstring. The adjustable loop is known as the "tail". The string is often twisted (this being called the "flemish twist"). Bowstrings have been constructed of many materials throughout history, including fibres such as flax , silk , and hemp . Other materials used were animal guts , animal sinews , and rawhide . Modern fibres such as Dacron or Kevlar are now used in commercial bowstring construction, as well as steel wires in some compound bows. Compound bows have

663-518: Is similarly ambiguous, stating Spreading the legs on the ground, straight like a stick, and catching hold of the feet with the hands, and making the body bent like a bow, is called by the Yogis the Dhanurasana or Bow-posture. (GhS 2.18) Dhanurasana is used in the classical Indian dance form Bharatanatyam . From a prone position, the feet are grasped to lift the legs and chest to form the shape of

702-430: Is the same diameter as the arrow shaft and is usually just fitted over the tip of the arrow. Other heads are known, including the blunt head, which is flat at the end and is used for hunting small game or birds, and is designed to not pierce the target nor embed itself in trees or other objects and make recovery difficult. Another type of arrowhead is a barbed head, usually used in warfare or hunting. Bowstrings may have

741-425: Is thickest right behind the head, and tapers to the nock. A barrelled arrow is thickest in the centre of the arrow. Target arrows are those arrows used for target shooting rather than warfare or hunting, and usually have simple arrowheads. For safety reasons, a bow should never be shot without an arrow nocked; without an arrow, the energy that is normally transferred into the projectile is instead directed back into

780-674: The Sri Lankan site likely focused on monkeys and smaller animals, such as squirrels, Langley says. Remains of these creatures were found in the same sediment as the bone points." Small stone points from the Grotte Mandrin in Southern France, used some 54,000 years ago, have damage from use that indicates their use as projectile weapons, and some are too small (less than 10mm across as the base) for any practical use other than as arrowheads. They are associated with possibly

819-465: The advantage that they do not bend or warp, but they can often be too light weight to shoot from some bows and are expensive. Aluminum shafts are less expensive than carbon shafts, but they can bend and warp from use. Wood shafts are the least expensive option but often will not be identical in weight and size to each other and break more often than the other types of shafts. Arrow sizes vary greatly across cultures and range from very short ones that require

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858-464: The archer is shooting from a fixed location. They can be simply stakes in the ground with a ring at the top to hold the arrows, or more elaborate designs that hold the arrows within reach without the archer having to lean down to draw. A modern invention, the bow quiver attaches directly to the bow's limbs and holds the arrows steady with a clip of some kind. They are popular with compound bow hunters as it allows one piece of equipment to be carried in

897-416: The archer, as well as the arrow rest and the bow window. The arrow rest is a small ledge or extension above the grip which the arrow rests upon while being aimed. The bow window is that part of the riser above the grip, which contains the arrow rest. In bows drawn and held by hand, the maximum draw weight is determined by the strength of the archer. The maximum distance the string could be displaced and thus

936-464: The asana is medieval, as although the name is used, the intended pose might be the sitting Akarna Dhanurasana rather than this backbend. The account of Dhanurasana in the 15th century Hatha Yoga Pradipika is ambiguous about whether the pose is reclining or sitting, stating Having held the big toes of both feet with both hands, one should pull [them] like a bow as far as the ears. This is called bow pose. (HYP 1.25) The 17th century Gheranda Samhita

975-408: The back, with a narrow notch ( nock ) at the very end to contact the bowstring. To load an arrow for shooting ( nocking an arrow), the archer places an arrow across the middle of the bow with the bowstring in the arrow's nock. To shoot, the archer holds the bow at its center with one hand and pulls back ( draws ) the arrow and the bowstring with the other (typically the dominant hand ). This flexes

1014-491: The bow itself, which will cause damage to the bow's limbs. The end of the arrow that is designed to hit the target is called the arrowhead. Usually, these are separate items that are attached to the arrow shaft by either tangs or sockets. Materials used in the past for arrowheads include flint, bone, horn, or metal. Most modern arrowheads are made of steel, but wood and other traditional materials are still used occasionally. A number of different types of arrowheads are known, with

1053-658: The days of English and later American colonization. Organised warfare with bows ended in the early to mid-17th century in Western Europe , but it persisted into the 19th century in Eastern cultures, including hunting and warfare in the New World . In the Canadian Arctic , bows were made until the end of the 20th century for hunting caribou , for instance at Igloolik . The bow has more recently been used as

1092-594: The elm Holmegaard bows from Denmark , which were dated to 9,000 BCE. Several bows from Holmegaard, Denmark, date 8,000 years ago. High-performance wooden bows are currently made following the Holmegaard design. The Stellmoor bow fragments from northern Germany were dated to about 8,000 BCE, but they were destroyed in Hamburg during the Second World War , before carbon 14 dating was available; their age

1131-439: The field without encumbering the hunter's body. A style used by medieval English longbowmen and several other cultures, an arrow bag is a simple drawstring cloth sack with a leather spacer at the top to keep the arrows divided. When not in use, the drawstring could be closed, completely covering the arrows so as to protect them from rain and dirt. Some had straps or rope sewn to them for carrying, but many either were tucked into

1170-561: The first groups of modern humans to leave Africa. After the end of the last glacial period , some 12,000 years ago, the use of the bow seems to have spread to every inhabited region, except for Australasia and most of Oceania. The earliest definite remains of bow and arrow from Europe are possible fragments from Germany found at Mannheim-Vogelstang dated 17,500–18,000 years ago, and at Stellmoor dated 11,000 years ago. Azilian points found in Grotte du Bichon , Switzerland , alongside

1209-404: The limbs as well as placing the outer section, or back , under tension . While the string is held, this stores the energy later released in putting the arrow to flight. The force required to hold the string stationary at full draw is often used to express the power of a bow, and is known as its draw weight, or weight. Other things being equal, a higher draw weight means a more powerful bow, which

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1248-491: The longest arrow that could be loosed from it, a bow's draw length, is determined by the size of the archer. A composite bow uses a combination of materials to create the limbs, allowing the use of materials specialized for the different functions of a bow limb. The classic composite bow uses wood for lightness and dimensional stability in the core, horn to store compression energy, and sinew for its ability to store energy in tension. Such bows, typically Asian, would often use

1287-426: The most common being bodkins , broadheads, and piles. Bodkin heads are simple spikes made of metal of various shapes, designed to pierce armour. A broadhead arrowhead is usually triangular or leaf-shaped and has a sharpened edge or edges. Broadheads are commonly used for hunting. A pile arrowhead is a simple metal cone, either sharpened to a point or somewhat blunt, that is used mainly for target shooting. A pile head

1326-436: The practice was common to many prehistoric cultures. They were important weapons of war from ancient history until the early modern period , where they were rendered increasingly obsolete by the development of the more powerful and accurate firearms . Today, bows and arrows are mostly used for hunting and sports . Archery is the art, practice, or skill of using bows to shoot arrows. A person who shoots arrows with

1365-491: The remains of both a bear and a hunter, with flint fragments found in the bear's third vertebra , suggest the use of arrows at 13,500 years ago. At the site of Nataruk in Turkana County , Kenya, obsidian bladelets found embedded in a skull and within the thoracic cavity of another skeleton , suggest the use of stone-tipped arrows as weapons about 10,000 years ago. The oldest extant bows in one piece are

1404-502: The two limbs of the bow rearwards, which perform the function of a pair of cantilever springs to store elastic energy . Typically while maintaining the draw, the archer aims the shot intuitively or by sighting along the arrow. Then the archer releases (looses) the draw, allowing the limbs' stored energy to convert into kinetic energy transmitted via the bowstring to the arrow, propelling it to fly forward with high velocity. A container or bag for additional arrows for quick reloading

1443-478: The use of special equipment to be shot to ones in use in the Amazon River jungles that are 2.6 m (8.5 feet) long. Most modern arrows are 55 to 75 cm (22 to 30 inches) in length. Arrows come in many types, among which are breasted, bob-tailed, barreled, clout, and target. A breasted arrow is thickest at the area right behind the fletchings, and tapers towards the (nock) and head. A bob-tailed arrow

1482-540: Was also commonly depicted in bas-reliefs from ancient Assyria . They were also used in Ancient Greece and often feature on sculptural representations of Artemis, goddess of the hunt. While popular in cinema and 20th century art for depictions of medieval European characters (such as Robin Hood ), this style of quiver was rarely used in medieval Europe. A ground quiver is used for both target shooting or warfare when

1521-742: Was renowned in ancient Egypt and beyond. Their mastery of the bow gained their land the name Ta-Seti , "Land of the Bow" in Ancient Egyptian. Beginning with the reign of William the Conqueror , the longbow was England's principal weapon of war until the end of the Middle Ages. Genghis Khan and his Mongol hordes conquered much of the Eurasian steppe using short bows. Native Americans used archery to hunt and defend themselves during

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