BOW AND ARROW

A bow is a flexible piece of material which shoots aerodynamic

projectiles called arrows. A string joins the two ends and when

the string is drawn back, the ends of the stick are flexed. When

 the string is released, the potential energy of the flexed stick

 is transformed into the velocity of the arrow.[1] Archery is

 the art or sport of shooting arrows from bows.

The bow and arrow is a projectile weapon system

 (a bow with arrows) that predates recorded history and

 is common to most cultures. Archery is the art, practice,

 or skill of applying it

Today, bows and arrows are used primarily for hunting and

for the sport of archery. Though they are still occasionally

used as weapons of war, the development of gunpowder

and muskets, and the growing size of armies, led to their

 replacement in warfare several centuries ago in much

 of the world.

The first actual bow fragments are the Stellmoor bows

from northern Germany.[8] They were dated to about

 8,000 BCE but were destroyed in Hamburg during the Second

 World War, before carbon 14 dating was available; their age

 is attributed by archaeological association. The oldest bows

 in one piece are the elm Holmegaard bows from Denmark

which were dated to 9,000 BCE. High performance wooden

 bows are currently made following the Holmegaard design.

The bow and arrow was not the first composite projectile

 weapon to be invented. It was preceded by the sling and

 by spear throwers such as the atlatl of the Americas and

 the woomera of Australia. A number of cultures in historical

 times lacked the bow and arrow, and in others oral history

 records a time before its acquisition.

Part RPG and part medieval-combat simulator, Mount

 & Blade is the first game to be released by Taleworlds

Entertainment, a small Turkish developer led by a

 husband-and-wife team. Since its release in 2005, Mount

 & Blade has enjoyed high critical acclaim and an ever

increasing fanbase, often being referred to as "the way combat

 in Oblivion should have been." While the bulk of the game

 revolves around building up medieval armies and leading

them into battle, the character can also be trained and

 leveled up in the manner of traditional RPGs. A variety of

 weapons are available to the player for their character to

wield, including an array of bows and arrows which do

 varying amounts of damage depending on their type and

 condition. The mounted archer, one of the many styles

of fighting a player may choose for himself, is considered

 by much of the fan community to be the most

 powerful manner of play.

 
The earliest potential arrow heads date from about 64,000 years ago in the South African Sibudu Cave.[6][7] By 16,000 BCE flint points were being bound by sinews to split shafts.