1 st\' century steppe bows...

[Alanus]

There are first century depictions in Bactria and NW India showing both Scythian and "Hunnic" style bows (Evan, you are making an artificial distinction between Sarmatian and Hunjic bows, as several Sarmatian bows have been found with handle laths).

A new type of bow appears in the 6th which I label early Turkic - the laths are shaped very differently from earlier ones.

@Alanus
Also true, hard to say exactly how many bone lathes there were because only broken bows are found in burials. The Sarmatian culture developed before the Hun culture did, by the way. Hun culture didn't develop until 150-200 AD

Hello, Robert, Nadeem, Evan, and Folkert,

Robert, I'm not surprised that the fort was abandoned later. Each decade re-corrects the archaeological equation. (Same with the steppe cultures, especially since 1990.) Thanks for posting the photograph. Siyahs numbered as 7 and 9, are short yet built that way. They are intact, not broken as are most of the longer ones. I believe we are looking at the remains of asymmetricals.

Nadeem, thanks for the input on Bactria and India, since it backs up the contemporary siyahed bows found in southern Ukraine. By the first century AD (After Darius), the Alans recorded by Josephus and Strabo were probably carrying the "latest development" as well. And no doubt, the Roxolani mentioned by Tacitus had the new bow. Nobody wanted to be thought-of as "old fashioned." :whistle:

Evan, pardon my flub on dating the Sarmatians. My mindset is riveted to the Later Sarmatian Culture, my choice in reenactment, and I often forget the Early Sarmatian Culture began in the 5th century BC (Before Casanova)... over a century before the Xiong-nu appeared. Considering the "Sarmats" and "Sarmatians" (formerly the Saka/Massagetae) were geographical neighbors, it's quite likely the Sarmantians may have begun using these bows before the Xiong-nu/Huns. At least something to consider.

Interestingly (or not), the 2 longest distance records made with a composite bow were set (1) in antiquity by a Scythio-Greek using a Scytian bow, and (2) in the medieval era by a bowman using a Turkic model. Fact is, all three styles didn't differ to the extent certain authors have claimed. Any bow can shoot distance if it's built powerful enough. To Folkert, I'd suggest something sane, like a 40 or 45 pound draw. Here in Maine, a 45 lb bow is legal for deer hunting. And a bow that can take down a deer can also raise hell on the human anatomy.