Ancient Egypt Bows

The first bows were commonly horn bows made by joining a pair of antelope horns with a central piece of wood.

Ancient egypt bows. By the beginning of the dynastic period bows were made of wood. They had a single curvature and were strung with animal sinews or strings made of plant fiber. Weaponry in ancient egypt developed in response to its necessity. A war chariot of that time carried a three man team a driver a lancer and an archer.

The invaders also introduced chariot warfare which the egyptians readily adopted into their own army. The main weapon used by the ancient egyptians was the bow and arrow. At first they used simple wooden bows but eventually when introduced by the hyksos started using composite bows which were made of different materials. The hebrews in egypt.

1500 details the practices and techniques of archery among the arabs of that time. Water buffalo tusks fish bladders and animal sinew all went into the making of the ancient egyptian composite bow. Another treatise a book on the excellence of the bow arrow of c. An online copy of the text is available.

They are made from a single strong and sizable piece of wood and measured between 1 5 and 1 7 meters. These bows were more flexible than wooden bows allowing for arrows to be shot further and faster. The upper ranks of society made up the chariot corps. The first egyptian bow used was likely a simple self bow made of antelope horn or wood.

Skilled archers were prized in europe throughout the middle ages. The early bows knives and axes of the predynastic period in egypt c. In china the earliest evidence of archery dates to the shang dynasty 1766 1027bc. In the pre dynastic period bows often had a.

During the zhou chou dynasty that followed 1027 256bc nobles at court attended. These bows were simple but their penetrating force was considerable if the enemy was without armor. The ancient egyptians used the bow and arrow extensively throughout their long history. 6000 c 3150 bce through the old kingdom c.

By the beginning of dynastic times recurve bows made entirely of wood had replaced horn though animal remains were still used for glue and for the bowstring which was made from sinew. The ancient egyptian people took to archery as early as 5 000 years ago. While the materials may seem primitive this powerful weapon was not so. 2613 2181 bce were sufficient in putting down local rebellions or conquering neighbors on the border who were similarly armed but were not the most efficient.

Ancient egyptian weapons a composite bow was later adopted in the new kingdom after fighting off invading nomads from asia known as the hyskos. The bow and arrow is one of ancient egypt s most crucial weapons used from predynastic times through the dynastic age and into the christian and islamic periods. Ancient egyptian weapons list bow and arrow. A number of bows were discovered in egyptian tombs.