Skip to comments.Complex Thinking Behind the Bow and Arrow
Posted on 06/26/2012 8:18:46 PM PDT by SunkenCiv Using
archaeological finds and ethnological parallels, the two
researchers reconstructed the steps needed to make a bow and
arrows. These are complimentary tools -- separate, but developed
interdependently. The bow is the controlling element, while the
arrows can be used more flexibly and are interchangeable. About
2.5 million years ago, humans first used tools to make other
tools then to make tools assembled from different parts to make
a unit with particular qualities, such as wooden spears with
stone spearheads (ca. 200,000-300,000 years ago.) The bow and
arrow and other complementary tool sets made it possible for
prehistoric humans to greatly increase the flexibility of their
reactions. There are many basic complementary tool sets: needle
and thread, fishing rod and line, hammer and chisel. The bow and
arrow are a particularly complex example. The reconstruction of
the technique shows that no less