Composite Bow Research Articles

Composite Bows of the Population from the Northern Foothills of Altai during the Turkic Khaganates Period (on materials from the Gorny-10 necropolis)

Composite Bows of the Population from the Northern Foothills of Altai during the Turkic Khaganates Period (on materials from the Gorny-10 necropolis)

Sources of supply of composite bows to the Buryats

The article discusses the main sources of supply of composite bows to the Buryats. In the works of domestic researchers, starting from the 18th century, individual theses appear on the local and imported nature of objects, their characteristics and differences are mentioned, and the manufacturing process is described, but these data have not been generalized to date. The subject of the study is a complex of written, material and pictorial sources containing information about the place and time of manufacture of composite bows used by Buryat archers. The article analyzes data from written sources and published works of specialists on the topic. The data is compared with identified composite bows from museum and private collections collected in the territory of Buryat residence or received from Buryat archers, as well as with a series of published images. As a result of the analysis, it was possible to identify and prove the existence of two sources of supply of composite bows to Buryat archers: imports and local production. Imported products are represented by various variants of the “Manchu-Mongolian” tradition, differing in the general ideas of the craftsmen about morphology, sizes and basic manufacturing techniques; Bright decor was used for decoration. The most common were locally made compound bows. Despite some differences, locally produced items are fundamentally different from imported ones in terms of morphometric features, which confirms that the Buryats have a local, distinctive culture of shooting and making composite bows.

Kompozit yayların kökeni ve gelişim aşamaları

İnsanlık, varoluşundan bu yana avlanma veya korunma amaçlı farklı aletler kullanmış ve sürekli geliştirmeye ihtiyaç duymuştur. İlk dönemlerde elle fırlatılan basit silahlardan sonra, uzak mesafeye daha etkili atış yapabilmek için farklı savaş aletleri geliştirilmiştir. Bu savaş aletlerinden biri de hem savaşların yönünü değiştiren hem de gelişmiş bir silah olan yaylar olmuştur. Başlangıçta sadece ahşabın esneme özelliğinden faydalanılarak yapılan basit yaylar, yerini zamanla yapımı daha fazla ustalık ve beceri gerektiren kompozit yaylara bırakmıştır. Ok ve yay insanın avlanma ya da savaşlarda en etkili kullandığı silahlardan biri olmuştur. Bu makalede yayın kullanılmaya başlamasından günümüze kadar geçirdiği tarihi aşamalar, özellikle kompozit yayın ortaya çıkışı ve gelişim aşamaları incelenmiştir.

Early Iranian Riders and Cavarly

The expansion of the Iranian peoples in first centuries of the 1st millennium BCE coincides with the creation and further development of the cavalry warfare in western Eurasia, as well as with the creation of the pastoral nomadic life-style which dominated the Great Steppe for millennia to come. The mounted warriors replaced the light chariots which dominated the Bronze Age battlefields which required perfect horsemanship however application of the recurved, double reflex. composite bow for mounted combat seemed another important factor in development of the cavalry force. Mounted archery which doubled the fire power of the mobile troops, earlier dominated by the chariots triggered the evolution of the various forms of cavalry, both as a response to a threat of the horse archers and independent forces used by the sedentary societies. Iranian contribution in spreading (and most likely invention) of the new technology is undeniable. Although horse riding and recurved composite bows were known earlier they could not overcome the power of the chariot force separately. Only the combination of the factors allowed fielding large and efficient cavalry troops as was practiced by the Scythians and became the success factor for the Achaemenid Empire. Survival of the chariots as late as the Seleucid times was possible because of changing their tactical function from the highly mobile shooting platform to heavy, at least partially, armored terror and shock weapon.

Composite Manchu-Mongolian bow from the collections of the Ethnographic museum of the peoples of Transbaikalia (Ulan-Ude): on the issue of weapons refit

The subject of the study is a composite Manchu-Mongol bow identified and studied in detail during direct inspection from the collections of the Ethnographic Museum of the Peoples of Transbaikalia (Ulan-Ude). Based on a study of its morphological and design features, during a comparative analysis with similar products of imported and Buryat production, it was revealed that the item was redesigned during its use. Examples of this kind are quite rare and allow, based on the study of specific products, to draw conclusions about the possible reasons and methods for rearranging weapons to change their characteristics. Analysis of the context of application can significantly complement the understanding of this process. The novelty of the research is associated with the introduction into scientific circulation of a previously unpublished fully preserved composite bow. At the moment, such work is rare in russian weapons science. The analysis of specific weapons is important in the context of studying the military art of the peoples of Siberia and Central Asia, since in order to compile the most correct idea on this issue, a comprehensive study of the entire array of sources is necessary. An important component of the study was the analysis of the redesigned elements, and their interpretation is given. Based on a number of reasons, most likely the owner was trying to adapt the item to stable shooting with lighter arrows and to make it easier to care for. It is possible that some damage was repaired in this way. As a result of the refit the morphology and metrics of the functional zones of the product are closest to composite bows made in Transbaikalia.

Sources of supply of composite bows to the Buryats

The article discusses the main sources of supply of composite bows to the Buryats. In the works of domestic researchers, starting from the 18th century, individual theses appear on the local and imported nature of objects, their characteristics and differences are mentioned, and the manufacturing process is described, but these data have not been generalized to date. The subject of the study is a complex of written, material and pictorial sources containing information about the place and time of manufacture of composite bows used by Buryat archers. The article analyzes data from written sources and published works of specialists on the topic. The data is compared with identified composite bows from museum and private collections collected in the territory of Buryat residence or received from Buryat archers, as well as with a series of published images. As a result of the analysis, it was possible to identify and prove the existence of two sources of supply of composite bows to Buryat archers: imports and local production. Imported products are represented by various variants of the “Manchu-Mongolian” tradition, differing in the general ideas of the craftsmen about morphology, sizes and basic manufacturing techniques; Bright decor was used for decoration. The most common were locally made compound bows. Despite some differences, locally produced items are fundamentally different from imported ones in terms of morphometric features, which confirms that the Buryats have a local, distinctive culture of shooting and making composite bows.

Savaş Tarihine Yön Veren Silah: Türk Kompozit Yayı ve Tamamlayıcı Unsurları

Yaylar, basit ve kompozit olmak üzere ikiye ayrılır. Ancak kendi içerisinde farklı alt tiplere de ayrılabilmekteydiler. Kompozit yayları basit yaylardan ayıran en temel özellik, üretim aşamasında ahşap haricinde farklı malzemelerin de kullanılmış olmasıdır. Makalemizin konusunu oluşturan Türk yayı ise kompozit yapıdadır. Üretim aşamasında kullanılan farklı malzemeler sayesinde yayın dayanıklılığı artmış ve uzun yıllar yapısı bozulmadan ilk günkü gibi kullanım görmüştür. Hatta bu özelliği sayesinde babadan oğula miras kaldığını da söyleyebiliriz. Türk kompozit yayı refleks olarak kurulur. Yani yay sabit yönünün aksine terse doğru kurulmaktaydı. Refleks oluşu yayın gücünü arttırmış, bu sayede oklar uzak mesafelere ulaşmıştır. Yayların mermisi işlevinde olan okların yapımı da oldukça meşakkatliydi. Çünkü düzgün üretilmeyen okun hızı ve yönü istenilen düzeyde olamazdı. Oklar birden fazla bölüme ayrılmakta olup esas vurucu kısımları temren, soya bölümüdür. Temren ve soya kullanıldıkları malzemeye göre ayrılmalarının yanında ek olarak farklı tipolojilerde de üretilmiştir. Yay kullanımı için yardımcı ekipmanlar olan zihgir ve ok sadağı okçulukta bulunmak zorundaydı. Zihgirler, ok kirişinin sağ başparmağa vereceği hasarı önleyen başparmak yüzükleridir. Sadaklar ise daha çok organik malzemeden üretilen yapısıyla okların taşınması görevini üstlenen yardımcı ekipmandır.

A new flexural-tensegrity bow

The bow is a simple machine now representing a paradigmatic example for demonstrating the applicability of the structural concept of flexural tensegrity, as chains of segments in unilateral contact coupled by unbonded prestressing tendons. The nonlinear and nonlocal constitutive laws for bending are dictated by the tendon prestress and, explicitly, by the shape of the contact surfaces between segments. Optimization requires functionally graded elastic properties fulfilling different objective functions, in terms of energetic efficiency, arrow exit speed, shooting accuracy, archer’s comfort. An innovative non-recurve composite bow, called FlexTen bow, is theoretically analyzed, prototyped and tested, under static and dynamic conditions. Two different designs are considered, identical except for the shape of the contact surfaces between segments, so that the lever arm of the internal couple is either a linear or a sub-linear function of relative rotation. The FlexTen bow with sub-linear behavior outperforms classical bows, but the advantages, yet to be fully appreciated, also consist in the modular construction and the possibility of packaging.

The First Great Powers: Babylon and Assyria

The First Great Powers: Babylon and Assyria

A Yakut Composite Bow from the Toybokhoy Museum

We give the fi rst description of an unusual composite bow of the Central Asian type, owned by the Toybokhoy Museum in the Suntarsky District of Yakutia, and provide information about its discovery. We foc us on the details and structural peculiarities of the specimen, and note that this refl ex composite bow differs in terms of construction and technology from those of the Northe rn type used by the Yakuts in the 17th to 19th centuries. It resembles bows of the Central Asian type. Its distinctive features are eight horn and bone frontal plates, four end-plates, and four long edging-plates made of bone. According to folkloric sources and 17th century archival documents, before the Russians migrated to the Lena Territory, the Yakuts had used bone combat bows of the Central Asian type. We cite an archaeological fact demonstrating the use of such bows in Yakutia—a central plate from a composite bow with widening paddle-shaped ends from the mid-15th to early 16th century burial at Sergelyakh. We publish the results of the radiocarbon analysis of the horn plate from the Toybokhoy bow, carried out at the Center for Isotope Research at the University of Groningen. They support the legendary version: the Toybokhoy bow belonged to the brother of the Yakut ruler Tygyn Darkhan, Ala Kyrsyn, who lived in the early 17th century and became the founder of one of the Vilyuy Yakut clans. We conclude that alongside the Northern type bows, the late medieval Yakuts used refl ex bows of the Central Asian type.

Якутский сложносоставной лук из фондов Тойбохойского музея

Якутский сложносоставной лук из фондов Тойбохойского музея

Asta de corzo como materia prima en el Período Huno-Sármata en el norte de Altái

El asta de cérvido ocupó un importante lugar como materia prima dentro del proceso de manufatura tradicional en la zona norte de Altái durante el Período Huno-Sármata (primera mitad del I milenio DC). Diversas rutas migratorias estacionales de corzos atraviesan este territorio. El procesamiento del asta de corzo durante el Período Huno- Sármata está bien documentado en varios yacimientos arqueológicos en el valle del curso bajo del Katun. El surtido de productos está compuesto, entre otros, por herramientas, elementos compuestos para arco, puntas de fleche y harneses de caballo. Laoccurrencia natural y gran cantidad de material específico de asta afecta a diferencias en la tecnología empleada para la manufactura. Generlmente, el conjunto de elementos de asta del Período Huno-Sármata del norte de Altái es típica de una región más amplia que abarca parte del sur de Siberia, Asia Central y las estepas boscosas del Este de Europa.

8-band k·p modelling of mid-infrared intersubband absorption in Ge quantum wells

The 8-band k·p parameters which include the direct band coupling between the conduction and the valence bands are derived and used to model optical intersubband transitions in Ge quantum well heterostructure material grown on Si substrates. Whilst for Si rich quantum wells the coupling between the conduction bands and valence bands is not important for accurate modelling, the present work demonstrates that the inclusion of such coupling is essential to accurately determine intersubband transitions between hole states in Ge and Ge-rich Si1−xGex quantum wells. This is due to the direct bandgap being far smaller in energy in Ge compared to Si. Compositional bowing parameters for a range of the key modelling input parameters required for Ge/SiGe heterostructures, including the Kane matrix elements, the effective mass of the Γ2′ conduction band, and the Dresselhaus parameters for both 6- and 8-band k·p modelling, have been determined. These have been used to understand valence band intersubband transitions in a range of Ge quantum well intersubband photodetector devices in the mid-infrared wavelength range.

A Persian archery manual by Mohammad Zamān

Persian archery manuals provide lots of useful information on shooting with a Persian composite bow. The main aim of this article is to provide, for the first time, a full annotated translation of an undated Persian archery manual written by Mohammad Zamān known as Čerāq Beg from the family of Kāmrān Beg Qarānāj. The manual is handwritten and consists of twenty four pages which include twelve chapters. Despite the occasional confusion, the obscure vocabulary, and the odd clumsy description, the text is a mine of information. It shows the continuity of the Persian archery tradition at least to the end of the eighteenth century and increases our knowledge of some of the details once commonplace that are now obscure. The gradual increase in our knowledge of Persian archery is progressing through the discovery and translation of works like this one of Mohammad Zamān. Such manuals introduce new techniques and also confirm the pervasiveness of the basic forms of this ancient art.

Overview of Structural Life Assessment and Reliability, Part VI: Crack Arresters 1

Overview of Structural Life Assessment and Reliability, Part VI: Crack Arresters 1

Overview of Structural Life Assessment and Reliability, Part VI: Crack Arresters1

Overview of Structural Life Assessment and Reliability, Part VI: Crack Arresters¹

Overview of Structural Life Assessment and Reliability, Part V: Joints and Weldments

Overview of Structural Life Assessment and Reliability, Part V: Joints and Weldments

Накладки сложносоставных луков из могильника Сростки-I (материалы раскопок 2012–2014 и 2016 гг.)

Накладки сложносоставных луков из могильника Сростки-I (материалы раскопок 2012–2014 и 2016 гг.)

Overview of Structural Life Assessment and Reliability, Part IV: Corrosion and Hydrogen Embrittlement of Naval Ship Structures

Overview of Structural Life Assessment and Reliability, Part IV: Corrosion and Hydrogen Embrittlement of Naval Ship Structures

Overview of Structural Life Assessment and Reliability, Part IV: Corrosion and Hydrogen Embrittlement of Naval Ship Structures

Overview of Structural Life Assessment and Reliability, Part IV: Corrosion and Hydrogen Embrittlement of Naval Ship Structures