Bow and arrow

A ranged weapon in which a flexible bow stores energy when drawn and releases it to propel an arrow. Its design combines a bending stave, a string, and a projectile.

Bowstring: A tensioned cord that connects a bow’s limbs and transfers their stored energy to an arrow. Drawing the string bends the bow; releasing it drives the arrow forward.
Paleolithic archery: The use of bows and arrows during the Paleolithic, evidenced by prehistoric artifacts and depictions. Some of the earliest surviving evidence places archery deep in human prehistory.
Archery: The practice of shooting arrows with a bow, for hunting, warfare, sport, or recreation. It is the broader practice that uses this weapon.
Crossbow: A projectile weapon with a bow mounted horizontally on a stock and drawn by a mechanical device. Its stock and trigger hold the bow under tension, unlike a hand-drawn bow.
Battle of Agincourt: A 1415 battle in which Henry V’s English army defeated a larger French force during the Hundred Years’ War. English longbowmen were central to the battle’s enduring account of archery in warfare.
Bow limb: A flexible arm of a bow that bends under draw and returns toward its resting shape. The limbs store elastic energy as the archer draws the bow.
Holmegaard bows: A group of prehistoric wooden bows discovered in the Holmegaard bogs of Denmark. Their preserved forms offer unusually direct evidence of early bow construction.
Bowhunting: The practice of hunting game with a bow and arrow. It applies archery to hunting, where range, concealment, and shot placement matter.
Sling: A handheld weapon that launches stones or other projectiles by swinging a pouch on cords. It accelerates a projectile through rotation rather than a bending bow.
Battle of Crécy: A 1346 battle in which English forces defeated a larger French army during the Hundred Years’ War. The English longbow’s role made Crécy a landmark case in medieval military history.

Linked from 11 pages