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The first time I saw a compound bow, I assumed it was ancient, because it seemed like surely they would have figured it out given that crossbows were a thing. I
by nitwit005 7y ago
The first time I saw a compound bow, I assumed it was ancient, because it seemed like surely they would have figured it out given that crossbows were a thing. I was quite surprised that it was from the 60s.
People tend to make the mistake that ancient people were just primitives, but assuming they'd produce ideal solutions can also be a mistake.
- wodenokoto 7y agoCompound bows looks super modern.
- nitwit005 7y agoSo do modern crossbows. It's just the materials and styling. Do an image search for "wooden compound bow".
- ezoe 7y agoCompound bow requires very precise metal work and advanced material. You can invent the compound bow earlier, but you can't craft it without required tech. Other example is the ski. We have to wait until 1970s for modern ski, metal edge(good adhesive between wood and metal), polyethylene, modern wax, safe bindings... all requires various technologies and we had to wait until 1970s.
- nitwit005 7y agoIf you take a look at the original bow, I think we'd agree they probably could have managed: https://images.findagrave.com/photos/2017/28/63937289_1485711836.jpg https://images.findagrave.com/photos/2017/28/63937289_148571... There are a lot of things ancient people could have made but didn't. People have made gliders with only primitive materials, but no one was gliding around the ancient world (except, very very quickly to the ground). It was not purely a lack of materials.