Recurve bow

An unstrung recurve bow can have a confusing shape and many Native American weapons, when separated from their original owners and cultures, were incorrectly strung backwards and destroyed when attempts were made to shoot them.

"[2] Recurve bows made out of composite materials were used by, among other groups, the Persians, Parthians, Sarmatians, Scythians, Alans, Dacians, Cumans, Hyksos, Magyars, Huns, Bulgars, Greeks, Turks, Mongols, Koreans and Chinese.

[3] 19th century Bible scholar Adam Clarke pointed out that "If a person, who is unskillful or weak, attempt to recurve and string one of these bows, if he take not great heed, it will spring back, and regain its quiescent position; and, perhaps, break his arm.

And sometimes I have known it, when bent, to start aside, - regain its quiescent position, to my no small danger... this is precisely the kind of bow mentioned by Homer, Odyssey xxi, which none of Penelope's suitors could bend, called καμπυλα τοξα [kampula toxa] in the state of rest; but τοξον παλιντονον [toxon palintonon], the recurved bow when prepared for use.

"[4] The standard weapon of Roman imperial archers was a composite recurve, and the stiffening laths (also called siyah in Arabic/Asian bows[5] and szarv (horns) in Hungarian bows) used to form the actual recurved ends have been found on Roman sites throughout the Empire, as far north as Bar Hill Fort on the Antonine Wall in Scotland.

[6] The Turkish archer used recurve bows, which were manufactured from laminates of wood glued with animal tissue like horn and sinew, to great destructive effect during the reign of the Ottomans.

[7] Its use by the Mongol armies allowed massed individuals on horseback to raid from the Pacific to central Europe, thanks to the relatively short length of recurve bows, with which archers could maneuver while seated on their mount.

These bows were made of a bamboo core, with horn on the belly (facing towards the archer) and sinew on the back, bound together with animal glue.

[10] During the Middle Ages composite recurve bows were used in the drier European countries because the laminate glue would not moisten and thereby lose its adhesive power; the all-wooden straight longbow was the normal form in wetter areas.