Expert: John J. Shea - 6/16/2010

Question
I have recently read a new paper by Marlize Lombard named: "Indications of bow and stone-tipped arrow use 64 000 years ago in
KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa."  In this paper Marlize Lombard makes mention of the bent-branch snare as a precursor to the development of archery. Has the idea that the bow evolved from a branch snare been around for some time or is it new? Could you please shed some light on the origins of this idea/ theory?

Pedro Victor

Answer
Dear Pedro
I am unfamiliar with any formal proposal that the branch snare was a precursor to the bow, but it seems a reasonable deduction.
I think there were probably many tools and instruments utilizing the tensile strength of bent wood prior to the development of the bow and
arrow.  I don't know how  one would go about testing an hypothesis about which one of these led to the invention of the bow.
You might write Dr. Lombard to ask if it is her original idea or if she read it somewhere.
Cheers,
John Shea