Bow typologies

*This article is currently under development.*

A typology, specifically a bow typology, is an overview of the known types of bows (i.e. handheld bows, not crossbows) that existed throughout history in various cultures and societies. There is not one single typology, but several inter-related ones, and all of them are based on the study of certain criteria and factors. The following article provides a basic rundown of various typologies used for studying historical and traditional bows.

## Bows by construction

* **Selfbows** -
* **Composite bows / Laminated bows** -

## Bows by material

* **Wooden materials** - the vast majority of traditional and historical bows were constructed from a single type of wood (selfbows) or several types of woods (wooden composite bows or laminated bows). For more detailed information, please see the main bow woods article. Though most of the wood used by various cultures for bowmaking came from various species of trees and shrubs, some traditional Asian bow types have also used bamboo, particularly for composite wooden bow construction. (Strictly speaking, bamboos are giant woody grass species, rather than true trees, but the use of bamboo for bowstaves is traditionaly perceived as a wooden material.)
* **Sinew materials** -
* **Horn and antler materials** -

## Bows by size

* **Shortbows** -
* **Longbows** -

## Bows by shape: Cross-section

* **D-shaped bows** -
* **O-shaped bows** -
* **Flatbows** -

## Bows by shape: Limb-bending mechanics

* **Straight bows** -
* **Recurve bows** - built with limb tips that curve *away from the archer* when the bow is strunge. A recurve bowstave construction allows a greater amount of energy storage in the bowstave, and thus increases the potential kinetic energy and resulting speed of an arrow. Recurve bow construction has been known since ancient times. Historically, recurve bows have been built from a variety of materials.
* **Decurve bows** - built with limbs that curve or curl at their ends, *towards the archer*. This reduces the strain on the bow when it is used. Historically, bows constructed with these bending mechanics in mind were often manufactured by peoples with little access to more quality materials, as a way of creating good quality weapons despite these issues.
* **Reflex bows** - built with limbs that, when not strung with the bowstring, curve or curl *away from the archer*. This type of design allows reflex bows the capability to achieve the same or even greater velocity as much larger bows. Notable historical examples of reflex bow users were the Avar warriors and later the Mongol armies.
* **Deflex bows** - built with limbs that, when not strung with the bowstring, are curved or curled at the base, *towards the archer*. The deflex bowstave design helps reduce the strain on the limbs, as well as the energy stored by the weapon, the energy it can convey to the arrow.

## Bows by use

* **Hunting bows** - the oldest and initially only purpose of the bow as an archery weapon, since prehistory. With the spread of modern firearms, bowhunting has become a rarer form of ranged hunting in more recent centuries, even in the most remote and rural areas of the world, but it nevertheless still occurs. Modern bowhunting, using either traditional forms of hunting bows or modern forms of hunting bows, has also regained some level of popularity in the developed world since the late 1900s.
* **Military bows** - bows with higher to very high poundage, intended for shooting at greater distances, with a large amount of kinetic energy transferred to the arrows. Combat use of bows dates back to their first use of combat in prehistory, and professional military use of bows occured in parts of the world as late as the late 1800s. Though the concerns of military archery have always varied depending on a particular region, culture and era, its main goal has always been to either kill enemy military forces, or to at least inconvenience them (though injuries or intimidation). Many military bows, of various construction, were colloquially referred to by the general moniker as "warbows".
* **Training bows** - traditional and historical bows used for training warriors and soldiers. Often lower-poundage versions of Some were also used in certain native cultures as bowhunting training bows.
* **Recreational bows** - the most popular bow use in the modern world, where traditional or modern bows are built with a variety of techniques. In the ancient, medieval and early modern world, recreational bows evolved gradually as an offshoot of training bows and some hunting bows. Most early uses of bows for recreational shooting were intertwined with teaching people archery already at an early age, and recreational archery purely for the sake of entertainment became more common only later. Modern sports archery, with modern bows, evolved far more recently from traditional recreational archery.