Stone Age Bow and Arrow - Stone Age Weapons and Inventions

Stone age humans invented lots of weapons and tools to help them with everyday tasks like hunting, fishing, cooking and even cave painting. One of the most ingenious inventions from prehistory was the stone age bow and arrow. Making a bow and arrow needed lots of different materials so it was a tricky weapon to craft. But if you could manage it, it was well worth the effort!

Stone Age bows and arrows may have looked similar to this example - Image credit Zahara5555

What is a bow and arrow?

The bow and arrow is a type of "projectile" or "missile" weapon, that means it can throw things through the air for you. A stone age bow was made of a long, thin, flexible length of wood. This wood was pulled into a curve and kept in that position by some cord made of plant stems. Stone age arrows were made from a thin wooden shaft and attached to an arrowhead at one end with cord and natural glues like resin or tree gum. Arrowheads were made from flint, shaped to a point.

When was this stone age weapon invented? 

Over 60,000 years ago. The remains of some bows have been found in Europe that are up to 11,000 years old (in the Neolithic era of the Stone Age). Arrowheads, on the other hand, were made from rock and so survive much better through history. Arrowheads have been found in South Africa that date back more than 60,000 years (in the Mesolithic era of the Stone Age)!

A Stone Age flint arrow head from the Neolithic era - Image courtesy Hunt Museum

What was it used for?

In the Stone Age the bow and arrow wouldn't have been used for war or battle. Instead they would have used it for hunting. Stone Age animals were hunted for food because they were a great source of fat and protein for a healthy stone age diet. But animals in the stone age could be very dangerous. That's why the bow and arrow was such a handy invention. The bow and arrow was a long range weapon, meaning it could be used over long distances. This meant that the hunter could stay well out of harms way and avoid getting attacked by the angry beast they were trying to hunt!

Was it better than other stone age weapons?

The bow and arrow may not have had the weight of an axe or a club, but being a long range weapon made it safer to use. Also, the bow and arrow was smaller than a spear, so the hunter could even hide behind bushes or kneel down when using it to stay out of sight. It also had the advantage of being reusable. When you throw a spear, you'd have to run over to the animal you've just hit to get it back. But with a quiver (arrow bag) filled with many arrows, you can keep firing away at your prey until you're successful.

Did it work?

Definitely! In fact, the bow and arrow was such an effective weapon that it made human beings into the apex predator! Now homo sapiens could hunt and kill any animal they wanted, no matter how big and tough it was. The bow and arrow was so successful that people continued to use it throughout history, all the way through the bronze age, iron age and beyond. The invention only fell in popularity when the gun was invented!