In a modern test, a direct hit from a hard steel bodkin point penetrated a set of fifteenth-century chain armour made in Damascus. It has been suggested that the bodkin came into its own as a means of penetrating armour, however limited research has so far found no hardened bodkin points, so it appears likely that it was first designed either to extend range or as a cheaper and simpler alternative to the broadhead. They were made of unhardened iron and may have been used for better or longer flight, or for cheaper production. Bodkin points are short, rigid points with a small cross-section.Often, these heads rely on force created by passing through an animal to expand or open.Īrrowheads are usually separated by function: Other classes of broadheads referred to as "mechanical" and "hybrid" are gaining popularity. Many traditionalist archers choose heads made of modern high carbon steel that closely resemble traditional stone heads (see Variants). Modern arrowheads used for hunting come in a variety of classes and styles. Split-shaft construction involves splitting the arrow shaft lengthwise, inserting the arrowhead, and securing it using ferrule, sinew, rope, or wire. In medieval Europe, arrowheads were adhered with hide glue. Points attached with caps are simply slid snugly over the end of the shaft, or may be held on with hot glue.
Some arrows may simply use a sharpened tip of the solid shaft, but it is far more common for separate arrowheads to be made, usually from metal, horn, rock, or some other hard material.Īrrowheads may be attached to the shaft with a cap, a socket tang, or inserted into a split in the shaft and held by a process called hafting. The arrowhead or projectile point is the primary functional part of the arrow, and plays the largest role in determining its purpose. "Hunting with a bow and arrow requires intricate multi-staged planning, material collection and tool preparation and implies a range of innovative social and communication skills." Design Īrrowheads are attached to arrow shafts to be shot from a bow similar types of projectile points may be attached to a spear and "thrown" by means of an atlatl (spear thrower). Archeologists in Louisiana have discovered that early Native Americans used Alligator gar scales as arrow heads. Cords and knots are implied by use-wear facets on perforated shell beads around 72,000 years old from Blombos.
The employment of snares also demonstrates a practical understanding of the latent energy stored in bent branches, the main principle of bow construction. If snares were used, the use of cords and knots which would also have been adequate for the production of bows is implied. This is an argument for the use of traps, perhaps including snares. While "most attributes such as micro-residue distribution patterns and micro-wear will develop similarly on points used to tip spears, darts or arrows" and "explicit tests for distinctions between thrown spears and projected arrows have not yet been conducted" the researchers find "contextual support" for the use of these points on arrows: a broad range of animals was hunted, with an emphasis on taxa that prefer closed forested niches, including fast moving, terrestrial and arboreal animals. These hafted points might have been launched from bows. This indicated " cognitively demanding behavior" required to manufacture glue.
Examinations found traces of blood and bone residues, and glue made from a plant-based resin that was used to fasten them on to a wooden shaft. Stone projectile points dating back 64,000 years were excavated from layers of ancient sediment in Sibudu Cave, South Africa. In many excavations, bone, wooden, and metal arrowheads have also been found. Those that have survived are usually made of stone, primarily consisting of flint, obsidian, or chert.
Such artifacts can be found all over the world in various locations. As archaeological artifacts such objects are classed as projectile points, without specifying whether they were projected by a bow or by some other means such as throwing since the specific means of projection (the bow, the arrow shaft, the spear shaft, etc.) is found too seldom in direct association with any given point and the word "arrow" would imply a certainty about these points which simply does not exist. Such items remained in use throughout human civilization, with new materials used as time passed. In the Stone Age, people used sharpened bone, flintknapped stones, flakes, and chips and bits of rock as weapons and tools.