otzi bow

[bigfish]

there has been much debate over the fact of it being a work in progress or a usable bow but are there any pics. showing possible set/string follow I think this could lean it in favor of being usable as I can not see him sealing a bow that was in the works and also show if it was built in reverse with the d side as the back

[bowandarrow473]

I think I read an article that proved that the bow, if used would snap because it would be way under built for the draw weight that it would be at if drawn, I think they estimated it at something like 150 pounds at 28 inches or something.  Which would be too much for a man of Otzi's stature to draw. Also the bows width was too narrow to handle the forces that a bow with such draw weight would be under. Could always be wrong though.

[jayman448]

Just a thought : what if it was a green bow? Perhaps the dimentions were so off because he would just use it and tiller it as beeded as it dried? It could make the bow look so incredibly strong. Just an off hand thought. I know nothing of this subject at all

[mikekeswick]

It was almost certainly a stave on it's way to becoming a bow.

[LittleBen]

I'll just ask him next time I see him ....

[DaveMac]

here is an article giving dimensions, comparing to other bows and using computer models to estimate draw weight.

http://www.primitiveways.com/Otzi's_bow.html

I know that its not the same but there is an interesting video on recreating the ascott heath bow just using primitive tools.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Th6EOlLK0DA

[George Tsoukalas]

Thanks, bigfish. Jawge

[bigfish]

Is there any thing showing that it was to be shot in reverse with the d as the back

[magick.crow]

His arrows were also not finished.
He had wounds that he died off.

Think of it like this. They guy was mugged and escaped without most of his stuff, maybe one bag. He starts running home over the mnts. He is getting chased. He needs weapons so he starts building a bow. Naturally it is green but needs power so it is over built.
Just my take on it.
DEK

[paco664]

what bothers me is the "more than a man of his stature could pull"...

i am thoroughly convinced that men in those times were way and far stronger for their size then men are today...   these people fought and scraped for everything they had... their lives were nailed to their spines with railroad spikes and every fight or altercation they had was for all the marbles...

[bradsmith2010]

it could be true that men were stronger for their size,, I would not be surprised,, interesting thought for sure

[bowandarrow473]

I do not see how a man of his stature would be able to pull a bow above 60-70 pounds. Men back then we're not lifting weights, they were running and walking to chase and find game and other food,and that builds lean muscle not the mass needed to pull weight. More muscle equals more calories consumed, do you think a man back then would be able to handle the extra caloric need for an extended period of time. Furthermore pulling a bow of such weight on a regular basis is bound to screw something up for a man his size and there are no doctors to tend to his rotator cuff when it's been messed up by pulling a #150 bow. His muscle fibers are the same as ours and I do not think that he would have had the strength to pull this bow.  Natural selection would be against such a hulking muscular man as he would likely be slow and an easy target for predators or other humans. Just my train of thought though. And I've been wrong before.

[DC]

I've seen some pretty skinny guys pull some awfully heavy bows. just sayin'. Always wanted to say, "just sayin' "

[mullet]

Well, I'm not part of the Big Gulp generation and I think you guys are selling Otzi a little short, based on your lifestyle. I'm 5' 6" and 62 years old, hunt with a #60 bow and have not a lot of problem pulling a #90 bow to full draw. I think they might have been a lot leaner then the Pot belly boys runn,, oops driving around today.

[magick.crow]

Ishi's bows were rather light. Not saying he did not have the strength needed but he was a wild man and made 40# hunting bows. It was enough to get the job done.
Pulling super heavy bows or doing very heavy sort of work changes the bone structure. Basically the muscles must pull harder on the tendons and the tendons must pull on the bones so at the attachment points our bodies build up more bone to handle the strain. I have seen no reports of this on Otzi. You do see it in reports of the men from the Mary Rose.

Another question is why would he need a 150# bow? You can kill a bear with a much lighter bow. I am thinking that the best armor of the time would have been leather and I am not even sure that they had that 5000 year ago.

This does of course not prove that in this emergency he did not build a bow to his maximum capacity for this one time war use.

Douglas