Thanks for the excellent video and the shout out! I also had no idea that Southeast Asians had similar crossbow designs! Also have you tested this crossbow or is it too fragile? I'm curious to see how quickly a projectile that small is able to fly with 200lbs of force behind it.
Thanks for the shoutout too. Yes they are thousands of Km away but similar design, just to show all human beings are innovative and intelligent. I cannot test this because it’s too old from the 20th century. id rather make my own to test. ever though it is 100-200lb of force, the powerstroke is very short on this so im unsure how fast it will shoot, but the goal is to deliver poison darts
These can be seriously fast. 100m/s+ easily. I've made wooden crossbows with similar proportions. And when the bolt is light enough for the power, they literally shoot like air-rifles.
Most primitive crossbow designs were similar around the world, so it would make sense for them to be similar. As for the speed, most definitely fast enough to hit an unsuspecting animal. The extremely short powerstroke would suggest that it was suited for closer target, most likely for hunting rather than warfare
That’s such an interesting crossbow. I was thinking the stock was long so you could span it without kneeling down, I also think it’s different enough to be considered it’s own thing and not a copy of a portuguese crossbow.
Terrific video, Jack. I especially like that you mention at the beginning the colonial and racist biases of European scholarship on Africa. Excellent work, once again!!
I live in South East Asia, the natives here use blowpipes. Supposedly before blowpipes they used bows. Now I think crossbows would be better suited for jungle environment, you can cock the weapon and wait for the prey. You also don't long range or penetration. However there are no evidence. When the Portuguese arrived, they wrote of bows, guns and blowpipes of Malacca. Crossbow remains elusive. They only evidence I can think of is Cambodian crossbows on siege elephants.
You should also factor material cost and return. Blowguns would beat crossbows in price and firing rate while handcannons beat crossbows in power and price.
Dude! You seem to have a skill to take me 35 years back to my childhood! I remember so well when I started making crossbows that were small, portable, light and simply like these models that you bring into your content from time to time 🇫🇮💜 This is very inspiring - I want more!!!! Although I nowadays have very limited chances to manufacture anything strong and impressive, like Big steel crossbows, I now think that I could start using more natural material like wood and be more sophisticated and creative in the process🦊👍
The Ainu of japan loved crossbow traps for fish and hare. if you want Native American crossbows look to the Inuit drift wood and horn construction also with out fletching but that was on a model with a barrel shroud , every other tribe would want a Bent wood bow. Africans preferred the blowpipe a lot of brittle wood that does not make a good crossbow and i believe if they imported them they cracked. The Historians that wrote down that they did not have the technology are probably right but how many tribe could they understand at the time 4 in 40 , they might have only been able to talk to a tribe know for metal work, jewelry, gold, boats, blowpipes, tribes are so dissimilar in language and ability. If a British explorer shot a bow his whole life and brought an African bow to his draw he would break it they don't go the same pull distance (Euro/ 32inch) (African/under 26 inch) and say from experience that it was lesser.
Thank you so much for this video. I am actually visiting Gabon later this week and will double check the national museum there for any mention of this type of weapon. Really like your "stone age" origin theory, very convincing in my opinion. Regarding this particular weapon, I absolutely love that long split stock design, seems to be great for precise aim. I imagine it must also have required less training to operate effectively than a bow, so seems like a great choice for the everyday hunter.
oh wow have a safe and fun trip in Gabon! would be great to hear form you. i think the training also helps, but another reason is the ammo is very cheap to produce and carry relative to arrows
What poisons could they use to kill game, and then to eat that game? Theories on why it's long... the other end used as a spear? Or perhaps the hunter can hide in tall grass, and stick the crossbow out of the grass without revealing their position.
typically a poison that would break down with heat from cooking or which needed to be injected into the blood stream to be lethal but was not poisonous if ingested.
Hey jack, i just released a video on the Arab bow, i think you’ll like it. Crossbows existed in ancient arabia via the romans, but they generally didnt like them because it didn’t suit their style of warfare.
@@nerhaci2074 Early islamic (as well as ancient pre-islamic pagan) arabs did yes, as the islamic empire expanded into persian and turkic lands, the arabs started adopting composite short bows when the method of production was easier and safer.
I think people assuming the crossbow was hard to invent comes from having heard that it took so long for europe to start using them instead of bows in war and that they look more complicated
Regarding the length, leverage may be a factor, but I suspect it's more for the aiming shooting style with the length providing reference guessing that they shot up into trees like a blowgun. Little bit of wax on the pin might help free it up.
@@HistoricalWeapons Your right with the smarts of previous people's and colonial rubbish, also with tools I think a lot of commonality in style's derives from the materials available and also environment like convergent evolution. Not holding the thing I'm visualizing shooting it from under the chin for aiming, the weight is less issue when pointing up. Audio is clear.
What about suporting the stock on the ground, with the bow upwards, and pressing down the string with the body weight? Using the body weight to arm the crossbow will make it a breeze, and this justifies the long stock. Although the stock looks very thin for this. Any thoughts?
I ended up buying my first antique crossbow that was made in Denmark region, which came with a certificate of authenticity dated 1921. I found it in Medicine Hat via garage sale. Cost was $425 I will upload a photo of crossbow I found and certificate. I would like to pay you (Jack) to view images and clarify if my purchase has validity/actuality. Can you assist with this Jack?
Yeah crossbows, bows and arrows, sling shots, canons, pellet guns, paintball guns, potato guns, squirt guns, blow guns, lazer tag guns, and super soakers could all be fun timers.
Archery in Africa has a very long and diverse history, you will have a video talking about the different types of bows that some different ethnic groups used, Which reminds me that the egyptians said that the avitantes of the empire of kush were some of the best archers they had, He asked me what types of bows they used, and they must have been very good archers because they ended up conquering Egypt (Although being a realist in ancient times the whole world conquered Egypt, they should have worried more about having better defenses on their borders than about erasing the name of works made by pharaohs Previous to take ownership of their works )😂
Awesome video. There's a video you might find interesting on Praveen mohans channel that shows what appears to be indians using compound bows or other advanced archery equipment carved into ancient Hindu temples
You speak about the poison, if you are using poison you don't need a high draw weight to pierce internal organs. If you don't have a high draw weight, holding the bow at full draw isn't hard while you aim or wait for an animal to step out from behind cover. You also don't need to be as accurate so snap shooting is fine. The crossbows ability to hold the stored energy without using the strength of the archer is its main benefit. Poison arrows change the design equation for bow making, and a crossbows are a lot of extra work for minimal increase in lethality.
i dont understand why they chose this besides the ease of making cheap ammo for this design, but this is what the Cameron Gabon african archers did. they chose this, regardless if it is better or not
@@HistoricalWeapons This comment is reference to your claim that there must have been more crossbows across subsaharan Africa in pre history. Why build a cross bow when a regular bow will suffice? It is the same reason we don't see highly reflexed composite bows in areas with forest with plenty of wood suitable for bows: As humans we don't engineer solutions to problems we don't have.
Thanks for the excellent video and the shout out! I also had no idea that Southeast Asians had similar crossbow designs! Also have you tested this crossbow or is it too fragile? I'm curious to see how quickly a projectile that small is able to fly with 200lbs of force behind it.
Thanks for the shoutout too. Yes they are thousands of Km away but similar design, just to show all human beings are innovative and intelligent. I cannot test this because it’s too old from the 20th century. id rather make my own to test. ever though it is 100-200lb of force, the powerstroke is very short on this so im unsure how fast it will shoot, but the goal is to deliver poison darts
These can be seriously fast. 100m/s+ easily.
I've made wooden crossbows with similar proportions. And when the bolt is light enough for the power, they literally shoot like air-rifles.
Most primitive crossbow designs were similar around the world, so it would make sense for them to be similar.
As for the speed, most definitely fast enough to hit an unsuspecting animal. The extremely short powerstroke would suggest that it was suited for closer target, most likely for hunting rather than warfare
That’s such an interesting crossbow. I was thinking the stock was long so you could span it without kneeling down, I also think it’s different enough to be considered it’s own thing and not a copy of a portuguese crossbow.
thanks a lot for your comment.
i agree with you. by the way is the audio too loud?
@@HistoricalWeapons the audio is Perfect 👌
@@HistoricalWeapons we have volume control bro only pitch and tone changes you need to worry about if annoys people without knowing why
Very interesting, and it does seem much more plausible that Africa had them before encountering europeans., Convergent evolution is very common.
It is already proven that Carthaginian invented the western crossbow. Carthage=North Africa
@@HistoricalWeaponsWow, I've never heard of that. Do you have any videos or sources talking about it? I'd love to know.
Nice, saw this linked from reddit. Liked and subscribed.
Terrific video, Jack. I especially like that you mention at the beginning the colonial and racist biases of European scholarship on Africa. Excellent work, once again!!
I live in South East Asia, the natives here use blowpipes. Supposedly before blowpipes they used bows. Now I think crossbows would be better suited for jungle environment, you can cock the weapon and wait for the prey. You also don't long range or penetration. However there are no evidence. When the Portuguese arrived, they wrote of bows, guns and blowpipes of Malacca. Crossbow remains elusive. They only evidence I can think of is Cambodian crossbows on siege elephants.
They used crossbows too
Handheld crossbow was a very common weapon in feudal Vietnam
You should also factor material cost and return. Blowguns would beat crossbows in price and firing rate while handcannons beat crossbows in power and price.
I agree. Historians often underestimate ancient people. They were primitive, but not stupid.
20th century
Not really primitive it's just the technology of thier time. Outdated for modern standards but not primitive.
Dude! You seem to have a skill to take me 35 years back to my childhood! I remember so well when I started making crossbows that were small, portable, light and simply like these models that you bring into your content from time to time 🇫🇮💜 This is very inspiring - I want more!!!! Although I nowadays have very limited chances to manufacture anything strong and impressive, like Big steel crossbows, I now think that I could start using more natural material like wood and be more sophisticated and creative in the process🦊👍
The Ainu of japan loved crossbow traps for fish and hare. if you want Native American crossbows look to the Inuit drift wood and horn construction also with out fletching but that was on a model with a barrel shroud , every other tribe would want a Bent wood bow. Africans preferred the blowpipe a lot of brittle wood that does not make a good crossbow and i believe if they imported them they cracked. The Historians that wrote down that they did not have the technology are probably right but how many tribe could they understand at the time 4 in 40 , they might have only been able to talk to a tribe know for metal work, jewelry, gold, boats, blowpipes, tribes are so dissimilar in language and ability.
If a British explorer shot a bow his whole life and brought an African bow to his draw he would break it they don't go the same pull distance (Euro/ 32inch) (African/under 26 inch) and say from experience that it was lesser.
Thank you so much for this video. I am actually visiting Gabon later this week and will double check the national museum there for any mention of this type of weapon. Really like your "stone age" origin theory, very convincing in my opinion. Regarding this particular weapon, I absolutely love that long split stock design, seems to be great for precise aim. I imagine it must also have required less training to operate effectively than a bow, so seems like a great choice for the everyday hunter.
oh wow have a safe and fun trip in Gabon! would be great to hear form you. i think the training also helps, but another reason is the ammo is very cheap to produce and carry relative to arrows
by the way is the volume too loud for the speech?
Thank you! If I find anything I'll comment here again. Didn't notice anything unusual about the volume
Thank you so much for this ,African weapons and in general is obscure
thanks for watching
What poisons could they use to kill game, and then to eat that game?
Theories on why it's long... the other end used as a spear? Or perhaps the hunter can hide in tall grass, and stick the crossbow out of the grass without revealing their position.
They get used to it and small game requires less poison to kill than man
@@langdavid6852 Sounds reasonable, so what poisons did they use? I'd like to know... For hunting purposes haha
@@societyofrobots Japanese prime minister already dead relax
i forgot the name but one tribe has a poison for hunting which is harmelss to humans unless it enters your blood stream ie a cut in the mouth
typically a poison that would break down with heat from cooking or which needed to be injected into the blood stream to be lethal but was not poisonous if ingested.
Hey jack, i just released a video on the Arab bow, i think you’ll like it. Crossbows existed in ancient arabia via the romans, but they generally didnt like them because it didn’t suit their style of warfare.
Arabs used self longbow ?
@@nerhaci2074 Early islamic (as well as ancient pre-islamic pagan) arabs did yes, as the islamic empire expanded into persian and turkic lands, the arabs started adopting composite short bows when the method of production was easier and safer.
Forgotten weapon of archery
Man, I really appreciate you making a video about these crossbows. It's something I've really wanted to know more about.
More to come!
I think people assuming the crossbow was hard to invent comes from having heard that it took so long for europe to start using them instead of bows in war and that they look more complicated
Yeah perhaps but it’s quite simple the basic designs with flick triggers
Regarding the length, leverage may be a factor, but I suspect it's more for the aiming shooting style with the length providing reference guessing that they shot up into trees like a blowgun.
Little bit of wax on the pin might help free it up.
Thanks a lot for the suggestion. Btw is the audio too loud?
@@HistoricalWeapons Your right with the smarts of previous people's and colonial rubbish, also with tools I think a lot of commonality in style's derives from the materials available and also environment like convergent evolution.
Not holding the thing I'm visualizing shooting it from under the chin for aiming, the weight is less issue when pointing up.
Audio is clear.
We use the same microphone
What about suporting the stock on the ground, with the bow upwards, and pressing down the string with the body weight? Using the body weight to arm the crossbow will make it a breeze, and this justifies the long stock. Although the stock looks very thin for this. Any thoughts?
I ended up buying my first antique crossbow that was made in Denmark region, which came with a certificate of authenticity dated 1921.
I found it in Medicine Hat via garage sale. Cost was $425
I will upload a photo of crossbow I found and certificate. I would like to pay you (Jack) to view images and clarify if my purchase has validity/actuality.
Can you assist with this Jack?
Sorry I moved west
I can look online
I think they are so long because they were used for almost vertical shots to animals on treetops.
These are some beautiful bows man.
agreed
Yeah crossbows, bows and arrows, sling shots, canons, pellet guns, paintball guns, potato guns, squirt guns, blow guns, lazer tag guns, and super soakers could all be fun timers.
Archery in Africa has a very long and diverse history, you will have a video talking about the different types of bows that some different ethnic groups used, Which reminds me that the egyptians said that the avitantes of the empire of kush were some of the best archers they had, He asked me what types of bows they used, and they must have been very good archers because they ended up conquering Egypt (Although being a realist in ancient times the whole world conquered Egypt, they should have worried more about having better defenses on their borders than about erasing the name of works made by pharaohs Previous to take ownership of their works )😂
Cool 🏹🎯
lol ur the first commenter, hows the speech audio is it too loud?
@@HistoricalWeapons sounds fine, hows my spelling ? 😉😂
I saw a video of a bushman in Africa making a crossbow for a trap to kill hyenas.
whic tribe?
"This specific crossbow is from West/Central Africa and was likely used for hunting of tourists of the 20th century."
damn, these are new glasses too
Awesome video. There's a video you might find interesting on Praveen mohans channel that shows what appears to be indians using compound bows or other advanced archery equipment carved into ancient Hindu temples
yes id love to do some indian videos soon
It’s his last name
Nice work
Thank you! Cheers!
Good video
Nice vid
I though Zopyros had invented the gastraphetes
That’s above subsaharien Africa which out of scope
You speak about the poison, if you are using poison you don't need a high draw weight to pierce internal organs. If you don't have a high draw weight, holding the bow at full draw isn't hard while you aim or wait for an animal to step out from behind cover. You also don't need to be as accurate so snap shooting is fine. The crossbows ability to hold the stored energy without using the strength of the archer is its main benefit. Poison arrows change the design equation for bow making, and a crossbows are a lot of extra work for minimal increase in lethality.
i dont understand why they chose this besides the ease of making cheap ammo for this design, but this is what the Cameron Gabon african archers did. they chose this, regardless if it is better or not
@@HistoricalWeapons This comment is reference to your claim that there must have been more crossbows across subsaharan Africa in pre history. Why build a cross bow when a regular bow will suffice? It is the same reason we don't see highly reflexed composite bows in areas with forest with plenty of wood suitable for bows: As humans we don't engineer solutions to problems we don't have.
FORGOTTEN WEAPON OF ARCHERY
My bro
Dig that music
One reason why in Egypt is Turks took control of Egypt.
Yes
Wow
Legend
beast
Nice
🙃
Thank you for educating us on the history archery and crossbows, comrade!
🤠👍🏿
Yes
Whoa
😮
No way