The invention of the bow became revolutionary for humanity. Before him, remote weapons were not a serious argument in war and hunting. Sling, darts, stones - all of them were significantly inferior in effectiveness to melee equipment. The “stick with a rope” began to change this balance - at first it was barely noticeable, and later on, from century to century, it became stronger and stronger.
From antiquity to the Middle Ages
The first bows were extremely primitive - a fairly straight and flexible stick with a bowstring from animal tendons. Arrows - smooth twigs with stone tips. The lethal force of such devices was small - they could only beat birds and small animals.
But, like any weapon, the bow improved very quickly. A man began to wonder: what tree is better to make a bow from? How can it be processed so that it is more flexible, stronger and more powerful? How to improve arrows?
Already in antiquity, the bow became a serious argument for military operations: made of a specially dried tree, with the same tension of both “shoulders”, it allowed to effectively hit the target at a distance of 30-40 meters, and this was a lot for that era. Arrows also changed a lot - acquired plumage, which stabilized their flight, as well as metal tips (copper, and then bronze).
From the Middle Ages to the present day
Despite the undoubted use of onions, until the beginning of the early Middle Ages, he did not receive any decisive significance - the legions of the great Roman Empire did not really favor him, relying mainly on discipline and order. Throwing weapons in the Roman army were used for auxiliary purposes - for example, darts were used to weight the enemy’s shields.
The first serious battle that the "hand gunner" won was the battle of the Hundred Years War between the French and the British. What tree do the English make from? "Of course, from yew!" - they would say on both sides of the English Channel. The British simple bow (or simply “long”) was taken not by precision or lethal force, but only by mass - the British were the first in Europe to rely on numerous detachments of archers and volley shooting.
It should be noted that the "beam technologies" in the world developed unevenly - if in Greek policies they used rather primitive constructions, then in ancient Egypt composite bows were invented already in two thousand years BC - they were made of wooden, metal and horn elements, they as a rule, they were much more accurate and more powerful than simple ones, while being one and a half times shorter. The best characteristics were achieved by the optimal combination of various materials and the creation of multidirectional bends.
The compound bow was widely used in the classical Middle Ages - mainly in Asian countries, Byzantium and Slavic lands. The main disadvantage of such a weapon was the complexity of its manufacture and, accordingly, the cost.
During the late Middle Ages, the bow was first squeezed out by a crossbow (much more powerful and not requiring special skills and physical strength from the shooter), and then together they completely lost a firearm. Noisy, misfiring, at first very inaccurate, it pierced any armor, and this plus outweighed all the minuses.
How are things with onions today?
The twentieth century was the era of the revival of this ancient weapon. First in sports, then in hunting - nowadays, enthusiasm for this ancient type of shooting unites millions of people around the world.
What tree are onions made of today? More often than not, wooden parts are not used for the manufacture of modern sports and hunting "shooters" - they were replaced by composite materials. They are stronger, more powerful and faster than classic materials.
An exception are instances that are created using historical technologies. Gunsmiths-reenactors use only natural materials. What tree are such craftsmen made of from bow and arrow? Maple, walnut, elm, yew, oak, hazel - many species are suitable for this role.
The results of even the best “historical” instances are inferior to the modern ones in all components of shooting, except for one - the pleasure of familiarizing with ancient art.
Interesting Facts
If you were transported to the distant past and, once in India or Persia, asked what tree they make onions in your city, you would be very surprised at the answer. The fact is that some items were made from a single piece of metal! Such "arrows" demanded remarkable strength and skill, so they were used quite rarely.
The design of the Japanese onion is unique - yumi. He, unlike all the others, was asymmetric - the handle and the point of application of the arrow was at a distance of one third of the length of the bow from the bottom. Learning to shoot from yumi was not easy, but the samurai's results were amazing - arrows from their bows flew to a distance of 350 meters! Until now, asymmetrical yumis are made in the Land of the Rising Sun, and shooting from it is not only a sport or a hobby, but an important element in educating a person. What tree are Japanese craftsmen made from? Bamboo is the traditional material for classic pieces, although wooden planks are used, interconnected by thin twine.