This is one of the best documentaries ever created, I recorded it decades ago on a VHS video tape from Discovery Channel, but my video player stopped working and I thought I'll never see it again. Looked for it on the internet for many, many years, but was nowhere to be found. And now, finally, there it is. Despite the fact that the image quality isn't perfect, I'd like to thank you very much for publishing it, it's a must-see for everyone who likes history and human civilization.

Thank you , I loved this , I have been into archery since I first found a baboo garden stake and a piece of string in my grand dads yard at 5 . I'm now 53 and have 5 bows of all types . I started to train my son from when he could first hold the mini kiddies bow to now he is 15 and shoots a recurve and his own real compound bow . Archery is a fantastic way to teach your children to learn an art that you can pass from generation to generation and always give them the ability for self defence and for hunting for food , even if both are no longer necessary in a modern world . Archery and target shooting builds confidence and a level of pride that will last their life time and build a healthy mind .

Imagine training hard all your life and being the best swordsman alive but get ended by an arrow 😮

Having watched this twice, it's really is an interesting watch.

Regarding the position of the handgrip of the Yumi Japanese bow, I understood it that there were two reasons that it's about a third of the way up the bow. The first, and simplest, is that it makes it easier to shoot from horseback, the lower limb being half the length of the upper limb. The second reason is to do with the physics of waves and vibration. When an arrow is shot from a bow and the limbs snap back to their braced position a shock wave is created in the bow by the surplus energy left in the bow. This shock wave has points along the bow where it is at it's maximum amplitude where a strong vibration is felt in the hand and also points where the wave cancels out, called nodes, where there is no vibration. One third of the way up the bow is a point of cancellation, a node, so no vibration is felt if you grip the bow there, whereas at the mid point as in almost all other bows, vibration is felt by the bow hand.

No Mallory uses a hunting stick that returns. A returning boomerang is a child's toy. You cannot down more than a pigeon with a boomerang. But with a hunting stick you can take out the large Grey kangaroo.

I can’t understand why Australian Aboriginals never invented the bow. 50k years of hunting and they’re still throwing sticks…

Man is NOT the only animal that goes to war!

humans are NOT the only animal that makes war. Not even the only primate. Good grrief!

Wow, learned so much from this documentary. For instance learned that the fletching is designed to produce drag which slows the back of the arrow and keeps it flying straight.. makes perfect sense and is fascinating!

Man is not the only animal that goes to war. Chimps do, so do bees and hornets.

Those early bows are simply awesome !!

This was exciting information. Thank you for posting it.

"Only the dead, know the end of war!" Plato 2,000 yrs ago!😮

Ranging bare foot through the kent woodland and fields with a little bow my father made for me when i was a young lad is a cherished memory along with mixing with and marveling at some folk who belonged to a reenactment group my dad would let practice with their war bows on our farm. Ive made a few bows myself and still enjoy a session every now and again.

Dhanurved Oldest book on bow and arrow ... Your documentary is incomplete without that...

Bowhunting deep inside the Honey Island Swamp of Louisiana Is how I maintain sanity in this crazy world. Love my trusty "59" Kodiak recurve❤

Excellent technical history. I loved the real demonstrations of various arrow capability. Good job!

Harold Godwinson had archers that he took with him to the north against the Danes. When Harold Godwinson marched south to fight William he left his archers behind because they couldn't keep up. He lost because he had no archers.

You might take in mind that if you're using a thumb release you need to put the arrow on the right side of the bow not the left. I know because I have a horse bow and I have tried it. When you pull the string back the arrow will automatically go off to the left and fall to the ground.

A really interesting documentary - factual & informative. Many thanks.

Archery is my single most passionate skill since i was 7 ive shot i shot competitively when i was 14 even getting a robin hood (william tel) i love these things thank you for this video ❤

Thanks for a most enjoyable and well presented video on the history of this ancient but still fascinating and effeytive weapon.

Amazing. The Welsh ( Celts) had been using the longbow since the ice age and had probably had the idea pinched by the later invasion of Roman, Angle, Saxon and Norman as there weren't bits of wood big enough in the Reed beds of East Anglia and yet Wales got a quick mention when they'd found pa Syrian bow left there by the Romans. The Welsh were the ones the English King's would hire to help in the battles. Lucked out again. Good programme mind and some very interesting stuff

Greatest doc of all time.

Great program, the Mongols were amazing archers on horseback with a very short bow

A truly fantastic and enlightening video!

very good, I thank you very much.

A truly excellent video, very informative.

Have you people never heard of the sqare headed hollow point arrowhead? I learned of these as a boy over 60 years ago. So much is forgotten! They were designed to crack plate armour, in order for it to either break, fall off or a combination including having other arrows or weapons finish the job. Usually, the idea was to capture nobility for ransom, not kill them. That honour was reserved for the hoi poloi. That was one of the reasons tha Crecy t Agincourt were so unusual.

OK. A couple of points. The bow IS and Was known in Australia in the North. However the bows that got to Australia were few and far between. I've look into this on and off for some time and some of this is pure guesswork so take that into account. The bows that I THINK got to Australia were Pacific Island Black Palm bows or possibly Bamboo from what is now Indonesia, the arrows for the black palm bows are not inaccurately described as small spears about 5 feet long with no fletching. Now these Bows only got to Australia by trade from the Pacific Islands and Indonesia or possibly carried by currents if lost into the sea. Now Australia has woods that can be made into bows yes, but a straight copy of a Black Palm or Bamboo bow in Australian woods is MOST unlikely to survive. So that is one strike against the bow here. The other is that the Indigenous Peoples had developed the Woomera [spear thrower], the hunting boomerang [which does NOT return, despite the comment by the gentleman near the end of the film] and the nulla nulla or wadi [there are several other names for what is basically a club or cudgel] and they simply did not NEED the bow to hunt with given their ability to stalk game animals and in Warfare they same weapons were also sufficient. Though some war SPEARS are among the most vicious and terrible weapons I have ever seen, with barbs pointing BOTH ways so the spear cannot be removed from the opponents body. Basically The Indigenous peoples all had efficient weapons and the bow was only known in the far North of the country and little regarded there. Also remember that this was a period where stone tools were used and the most common stone available here for tools was a material called "Silcrete", think of it as a very fine and hard sandstone. Chert, Jasper and Flint are known but It seems that the Indigenous peoples made little use of it, though I have seen some very nice points made from glass and ceramic telegraph wire insulators post White Settlement. Trying to shape a bow from an Australian Hardwood with this material would have been most difficult, though I believe well within the skills available considering the sophistication of some of the Indigenous spears. Still no likes a bow breaking while being made and when you are using Silcrete blades which are not as sharp as flint types and you already have proven tech then not bothering with the bow makes sense. Keep in mind this is my opinion only from my on and off studies of the dearth of the bow and arrow here in Australia.

Excellent video, really enjoyed it. Thanks for posting.

Ants wage war against other ants,they have soldier ants even.

Every weapon ever created by man will never rival his choice of words against another

Great documentary :)

Man is not the only animal that goes to war.

As a bowyer, I am happy that bows are finally portrayed mostly accurate, well made, thanks for sharing!

The Welsh was one of the best long bow man so please say Welsh and English bow thank you would be much appreciated

I am interested how many American viewers there are here, very interesting to have their contribution.

Fantastic documentary

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="665">11:05</a> when he shows the different angles he can aim towards, I am pretty sure that a lot of bow cultures used both hands as equally as possible... You would switch which hand was holding the bow when shooting to the other side... Parting shot and all... If you are on horseback then it seems especially important to switch bow hand.

For an interesting documentary about archery there is very little actual shooting of them. Enjoyed it.

Actual hunting bumerang don't return. The returning ones are a toy rather than a weapon.

Bow is much older invention than 10000 bc. The earliest definite remains of bow and arrow from Europe are possible fragments from Germany found at Mannheim-Vogelstang dated 17,500-18,000 years ago, and at Stellmoor dated 11,000 years ago. Stone projectile points dating back 64,000 years were excavated from layers of ancient sediment in Sibudu Cave, South Africa. 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.

The longbow test for plate armor would've been better either with something solid behind it, like the dummy in the chainmail. As it was, the plate had room to bounce off the arrows and vibrate the energy out.

I enjoyed this one ! Very interesting

Man is not the only animal that goes to war, battle, or fights other groups of their own kind. For example, chimps & Meerkats are two that I know of.

Remember, “wax your heads. A waxed head will penetrate where a dry head will be stopped.” Something I read years ago in the diary of a bowyer ( a bow technician) who was at Poitiers. Paraphrased by Conan Doyle in one of his novels.

An OUTSTANDING video! I really enjoyed this.

I love the compound bow it’s very accurate fire your arrow buries itself in the target. Very nice bows

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="145">2:25</a> "Man is the only animal that goes to war". Acedemic credibility seriously undermined in one nine word sentence.

great documentary as to how the bow was used in wars and hunting, especially the various ends of the arrows

Composite bows were mentioned many times, that they were a superior bow. Not once did they mention what it was or how it was made.

If only Harold had employed the Welsh archers that kept the Saes out of Wales for so long. It would take Edward 1 and later, the Black Prince, to realise this potential.

Thanks for posting. Just started watching this. I do hope that the Black Army of Llantrisant at 0985834 and Crecy gets a mention along with Henry V of Monmouth 's later employment of Welsh archers at Agiincourt.

Super video 😊

This was a very good documentary of our history of the bows, arrows, and cross bows. So good that I would say is the best documentary I've seen yet to date. I have always loved to learn more of the different types and where and who invented them. The different types of trigger systems they used back then were something that I'm sure each side would always want to get from their enemies and make them for themselves. Basically just like with every technology there are others waiting to steal it from the one who designed it. An there has been so many great things they made back then and one of my favorite bows was the type the Huns was using on horse back, the short bows that had the best range of that time and the secrets of how those bows were made was lost until recently. Arrow heads were also very important to us because it was different arrows for different reasons. An everything has just improved during time with bows and arrows. But now we have added compressed air to our arrows and send them to the speed of light if they can hold together long enough to get there. That is my next step is testing just how far I can get an arrow to fly accurate hitting the target.

This is very well done with excellent presenters of detailed information. Thank you.

Thank You first time I got to know angular bow

Aboriginal Australians never used bowe and arrow an interesting side note of human history.

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="342">5:42</a> The Ancient Egyptians understood the springiness of the bow, but didn’t know how to incorporate this concept into the suspension of their chariots. lol.

"English archers?" Pity no mention of Monmouth born Henry's hard learned lessons in his Welsh campaign against Owain Glyndwr and his own horrific arrow wound.

Bamboo was the most likely first bow. And yes. The traditional bow, evena piece cut from a much larger piece, would follow the natural grain of the material

Beautiful ancient weapon! 🏹

Disappointed that they never mentioned the modern compound bow. By far the most powerful and accurate end result of the evolution of the bow.

Really great video history. It would have been nice if you had gone one step further and included the modern Compound Bow as well.

Dear channel; u need to include cc / transcription

Ants and Yellow Jackets engage in war from my personal observation.

Just an interesting connection to the lack of a bow being developed in Australia. The aborigines here had a spear throwing stick thing, called a woomera, translated, a spear throwing device. I saw one at a school demonstration somewhere between 1975 and 1979. Again a lot of skill required and no where near the range of a bow, but when it hit, it hit, with the weight of 3 metres of 20mm diameter wood behind it. Target it was a 5 gallon drum, range one football field, went in one side out the other. Early settlers if hit, reportedly , mainly pushed them all the way through to get them out. The barbs were about 50 mm wide and the head in total was about 300mm long.

For many thousands of years our best projectile weapon.

Man evolved to bow from all angles of the world. Incredible

Miss the flat profile bow designs like the Mollegabet, i like that propeller design, at the moment i try to build my first from hazelnut and even Elderberry is good timber, but hard to find old and thick enough bushes/ trunks in my area

One aspect of the longbow that is often overlooked is the social aspect - it gave the meanest peasant the power to kill their lord. This of course resulted in lords treating their peasants rather better than in other countries, which I think became the foundation of rule by consent rather than rule by might. It would also have been a morale boost for fighting men - it gave them a country that they actively wanted to defend, rather than being largely indifferent as to who won the day as it would make little to no difference to the lives of their families.

Brilliant documentary, and I am not an archer. 👍🏻🇦🇺

I own a Steve Ralphs 85lb war bow. I bought it off him in 2005 with the intention of taking it up as a hobby, and it took me a couple of months to build up the strength to draw it and make aimed shots. Shortly after I suffered unrelated permanent nerve damage to my shoulder, and I’ve never been able to draw it since. It’s a lovely bit of kit, shame I can’t use it

The archer's bow almost certainly developed from the bow drill, a drill for making holes and starting fires.

The position of the handle on the Japanese bow has practical meaning. All forces are concentrated in the middle of the bow when pulling the string. If your wrist is there these forces will be transferred to your hand. That's why...

Is there a more frightening sight than a hail of arrows flying through the air towards you? Maybe flaming arrows 😂

Excellent! Very excellent. Thank You. I have always envisioned the bow originating from a childs toy. A bored kid ties a string to both ends of a stick. He flexes his invention in & out. He tries to add a second stick to the combination & the stick accidentally flies off a few feet. Daddy is watching him & says, "Hey! That gives me an idea!" Just a thought. Thanks again.

I love a Bow

I have strong doubts about the theory presented here with the lack of Bows in Australia. One of the biggest issue for bowyers in Australia is the complete lack of good timber suited for bows for one. Open grasslands made a spear launched from a Womera or alatel let you hit and kill with great force bounding kangaroos much easier. The land bridge formed before sea level rise had Indonesia, and New Guinea peoples, all with bows and its more likely the aborigines just let go of the technology rather than not have invented it.

I wish theyd touched on native american bows more. Custer lost his great charge to the natives, due to them having bows made of sheep horn and sinew. Absolutely devastating when you can be more accurate, quicker, and just as lethal as the firearms of the time. That was basically the nuke of pre modern america. They kept the knowledge of how theyre made secret from the white man at any cost. They were genuinely THAT effective in the plains. Really interesting, however the making of them was lost for a long time, until people started to experiment and figure it out again, since it wasnt written down and was kept secret. But the dead arts can always be resurrected with some ingenuity.

Actually, the response from William tell was this day. Could only go 1 of 2 ways. Either one arrow was sweet or both arrows were bloody.

The first time I have seen this documentary and it was very enjoyable. Not enough credit given to Chinese/East Asian development. They first developed the composite bow and the crossbow, and the Chinese are credited with developing the manufacturing acumen to make bronze trigger mechanics so precisely that they were interchangeable. Also very entertaining to read the comments and replies but not as much fun as shooting my own composite recurve (modern materials).

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="180">3:00</a> ORIGINAL BOW is the SCYTHIAN . ❤

could add a bit , long bow was still considered pretty much up to water loo period ,kill ratio per arrow was higher ,just the training time to pull between 120 and up to 200lbs [from the mary rose collection ,opened a few eyebrows , I think there is one pom replicating that now ]. made muskets more practical . I think the book ' the crooked stick' has one of the best explores of long bow .

Armor becomes more effective when shaped. As in, smaller overlapping plates. Hence, making it multiple times more effective. With complete freedom of movement in mind. Many small individual plates become stronger

Pity there's no mention so far of the explanation for the prevalence of yew trees in British churchyard s.

When discussing the longbow no mention is made of the fact that a certain number of men in every village were obliged to train weekly from the age of six, English bodies of that period show massively developed shoulder and upper arms, without this lifelong training the longbow would not have been effective due to the draw strength required. Modern Archers like the guys shown do not have the strength to shoot at the same velocity.

Document incorrectly presents the origin of the bow. The first masters of the bow were the peoples of the Eurasian steppe, not the Egyptians. The composite bow and even the chariot came to Egypt from this area.

The documentary dismissed crossbows as ineffective, but they weren't. Crossbows could penetrate armor far more effectively than hand pulled bows. There was a constant arms race between bows and armor, until no armor could defend against gunpowder.

only using a 90 pound bow some found on the mary rose were 150 pound pull big difference

Timeless weapon/tool/passtime! certain penetration tests favor the bow over firearms. They are quiet. you can reuse arrows. Amazing how logistic the bow and arrow is throughout history.

Insects and wolves go to war against each other.

Steel properties are complex: if you have an angular suit of plate, attached to a person, a plate that doesn't vibrate and thus repel the arrow as it hits, chances of pentration increase substantially. A bouncy small, fixed and rigid square of steel not attached to anything works like a spring against light oncoming projectiles.

Very interesting and well presented. I guess you couldn't cover everything but the small bows used by the Khoi-San in Southern Africa , used for hunting , not war , would have been an interesting addition. They used poison on their arrows which had detachable heads.

Ants and Bees go to war, Against other Ants Vs. Ants and Bees Vs. Bees, sometimes their own species, sometimes not.... So MAN is not alone in this, and begging the question since it's doubtful that the animals learned it from Us, did we learn it from the animals❓🤔❓ Or did we all come by it naturally❓🤔❓

So drive by shootings started with the Egyptians….

At <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1291">21:31</a>, the presenter is Mike Loades not Arthur Credland. Woops! 😅😂

The bow was the weapon of choice in the middle east which influenced how they fought and the tactics involved. Even to this day the middle east are range fighters. Europe on the other hand are melee fighters so the sword took precedence over the bow and that's how they went to war as well, in close mano a mano. There have been outliers to be sure Agincourt being the most famous but only the horsemen of the Steppe took the bow more seriously than the peoples of Mesopotamia and Egypt.