Arrowhead

An arrowhead or point is the usually sharpened and hardened tip of an

A craftsman who manufactures arrowheads is called an arrowsmith.[2]^{[full citation needed]}

History

In the

Such artifacts can be found all over the world in various locations. Those that have survived are usually made of stone, primarily consisting of flint, obsidian, or chert. In many excavations, bone, wooden, and metal arrowheads have also been found.

The oldest known arrowheads likely date to 74,000 years ago in Ethiopia.

"Hunting with a bow and arrow requires intricate multi-staged planning, material collection and tool preparation and implies a range of innovative social and communication skills."[6]

Design

Arrowheads are attached to arrow shafts to be shot from a

The arrowhead or projectile point is the primary functional part of the arrow, and plays the largest role in determining its purpose. Some arrows may simply use a sharpened tip of the solid shaft, but it is far more common for separate arrowheads to be made, usually from metal, horn, rock, or some other hard material.

Arrowheads may be attached to the shaft with a cap, a socket

Arrowheads are usually separated by function:

• Bodkin points are short, rigid points with a small cross-section. They were made of unhardened iron and may have been used for better or longer flight, or for cheaper production. It has been suggested that the bodkin came into its own as a means of penetrating armour, however limited research^[9] has so far found no hardened bodkin points, so it appears likely that it was first designed either to extend range or as a cheaper and simpler alternative to the broadhead. In a modern test, a direct hit from a hard steel bodkin point penetrated a set of fifteenth-century chain armour made in Damascus.^[10] However, archery was minimally effective against plate armour, which became available to knights of fairly modest means by the late 14th century.
• Judo points have spring wires extending sideways from the tip. These catch on grass and debris to prevent the arrow from being lost in the vegetation. Used for practice and for small game.
• Broadheads were used for war and are still used for hunting. Medieval broadheads could be made from steel,^[9] sometimes with hardened edges. They usually have two to four sharp blades that cause massive bleeding in the victim. Their function is to deliver a wide cutting edge so as to kill as quickly as possible. They are expensive, damage most targets, and are usually not used for practice. Two main types of broadheads are used by hunters: the fixed-blade broadhead and the mechanical broadhead. While the fixed-blade broadhead keeps its blades rigid and unmovable on the broadhead at all times, the mechanical broadhead deploys its blades upon contact with the target, its blades swinging out to wound the target. "There are three requirements to making a broadhead. 1. It must be wide enough to cut through tissue to produce a quick, clean kill. 2. It must be narrow enough to penetrate well. 3. It must be of a shape that can be sharpened well."^[11] A few models known as hybrid broadheads have both fixed and replaceable blades, most often two relatively small fixed blades and two longer mechanically opening blades.

The mechanical head flies better because it is more streamlined, but has less penetration as it uses some of the kinetic energy in the arrow to deploy its blades.^[12]

• Three-bladed, trilobate, or Scythian arrowheads appears in regions under influence of the
  Achaemenid army.^[13]
• Target points are bullet-shaped with a sharp point, designed to penetrate
  target butts
  easily without causing excessive damage to them.
• Field points are similar to target points and have a distinct shoulder, so that missed outdoor shots do not become as stuck in obstacles such as tree stumps. They are also used for shooting practice by hunters, by offering similar flight characteristics and weights as broadheads, without getting lodged in target materials and causing excessive damage upon removal.
• Safety arrows are designed to be used in various forms of reenactment combat, to reduce the risk when shot at people. These arrows may have heads that are very wide or padded. In combination with bows of restricted draw weight and draw length, these heads may reduce to acceptable levels the risks of shooting arrows at suitably armoured people. The parameters will vary depending on the specific rules being used and on the levels of risk felt acceptable to the participants. For instance, SCA combat rules require a padded head at least 1+1⁄4 inches (3 cm) in diameter, with bows not exceeding 28 inches (70 cm) and 50 pounds (23 kg) of draw for use against well-armoured individuals. The Australia/New Zealand based SCA Kingdom of Lochac use 30-pound (14 kg) bows and much smaller safety arrow heads similar to modern rubber bird blunts for their combat archery as these more accurately simulate real arrows.^[7]

See also

• Stone tool
• Elfshot
• Thunderstone (folklore)
• Projectile point
• Bodkin point

References