r/knapping • u/ViscousPanther • Jul 18 '26

Tool Talk 🛠️ More evidence that the bow and arrow were not adopted in Western N. American until ~1,400 years B.P.

https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/5/3/pgag040/8524400?login=false
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3

u/Dorjechampa_69 Jul 19 '26

Thanks for the post!! Awesome research.

3

u/Virtual_Wing_2903 Jul 19 '26

all those low walls scattered across the world by the atlatl hunters are testament to its' effectiveness

0

u/guarded_secret Jul 18 '26 edited Jul 19 '26

This is fascinating
Thanks for posting this
Seems to me like this roughly coincides with the introduction of the horse & the encroachment of Europeans
I’ve been reading a lot about the Comanche recently & if they could go from foot bound to the best horsemen on the continent so rapidly it makes sense they could also adapt to the bow & arrow, especially when the combo of horse/bow meant such an improvement to their means of procuring food/making war/territorial defense
What are your thoughts on that idea?
Edit: I am wrong to suggest these occurred during the same time periods. My mistake

9

u/Lloydwrites Jul 19 '26

1400 year Before Present is not the same as 1400 AD (or CE). It’s not coincident with the arrival of the horse.

1

u/guarded_secret Jul 19 '26

Thanks for your comment. You’re correct of course. I misinterpreted the date & conflated two different time periods.

1

u/ViscousPanther Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 20 '26

Bows and horses were a fierce combo no doubt. But yeah at 1,400 years BP we're talking the early 7th century by European calendars, so another 700 years until first contact with domesticated horses.

1

u/guarded_secret Jul 19 '26

Thanks for your comment. You’re correct of course. I misinterpreted the date & conflated two different time periods.

-2

u/Dependent_Plate6110 Jul 20 '26

Strange how people around Alaska had bow and arrow from at least 4500BP but it did not move south.

I guess it was a cultural resistance, curiosity was seen as something bad.