Abstract:

Bows have been used by humankind since prehistoric times. Initially used by hunters to meet their food needs, simple bows with a wooden body and a beam made of plant fiber or animal skin evolved over time into the indispensable deadly compound bow of the battlefields made with sinew, horn, and adhesive. However, since the bows were made of organic materials such as wood, leather, plant fiber, sinew, and horn, most of them decayed over time and were lost in nature. Thus, very few bows survived intact. Hence, visual works and cuneiform texts depicted on steles, obelisks, reliefs, seals, and door bands constitute our main source of information on bows. Numerous archaeological and epigraphic materials on bows dated to the Neo-Assyrian Period (1000-612 BC) have been unearthed as a result of scientific studies. Studies on these materials give important information on the use of bows in many different areas such as hunting activities, battlefields, religious ceremonies, and curse texts but also show that they were used as a symbol of kings’ military victories.

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