i’d also say there’s a difference between people making notches in a stick and tying a piece of string to it, and actually carving a bow and drying it.
Anyone can come up with the idea for and build a simple bow to test their idea, but figuring out how to make a proper bow takes iteration and is an investment.
also bowstring is a hell of a lot more sturdy than twine. probably took a lot of different iteration to find the right fiber/gut to use for the string, the right wood, just beyond getting the idea
Nettle fibres are pretty easy to make into a string that would be suitable for using with a bow. Making a bow is a lot easier than making the perfect bow. It would have been an iterative process, improving over time.
They rely on artifacts and art. So yeah, it’s quite possible the bow was invented earlier, probably a bunch of times in a bunch of places.
People are smart, but we’re smart in pretty regular and repeatable ways.
i’d also say there’s a difference between people making notches in a stick and tying a piece of string to it, and actually carving a bow and drying it.
Anyone can come up with the idea for and build a simple bow to test their idea, but figuring out how to make a proper bow takes iteration and is an investment.
also bowstring is a hell of a lot more sturdy than twine. probably took a lot of different iteration to find the right fiber/gut to use for the string, the right wood, just beyond getting the idea
Nettle fibres are pretty easy to make into a string that would be suitable for using with a bow. Making a bow is a lot easier than making the perfect bow. It would have been an iterative process, improving over time.