Archaeologists have pinpointed when the bow and arrow arrived in North America, dating the technology to roughly 1,400 years ago. The study, published in Quaternary Science Reviews, used radiocarbon dating on weapons preserved in dry caves and rock shelters to overcome the challenge of organic materials not surviving in most archaeological sites.

Lead author Metin Eren and his team found that while the bow and arrow offered clear advantages over the atlatl—including greater accuracy, distance, and the ability to shoot from multiple positions—there were trade-offs. Bows cost more to make and maintain, and required both hands to operate, making it difficult to also hold a shield.

The technology spread rapidly across the continent but followed different adoption patterns. In the southern regions, the bow quickly rendered the atlatl obsolete, while in northern areas the two weapons coexisted for several centuries. This suggests a single origin point that diffused through cultural transmission networks, though regional differences affected adoption rates.