I would like to know if someone can clearly distinguish if the first three rows of warriors in front of pit no. 1 of the terracotta army are bowman or crossbowman?
Or maybe there and on both flanks you find a mixture of crossbow- and bowman? Important for me is to know what are the differences between a warrior with a crossbow or a bow?
In the english literature (I'm sorry, I'm not able to read the Chinese one) there you often can find the word 'archer'. But archery comprise both crossbow and bow.
For sure there have been some crossbowman because of the bronze trigger (nu ji). But what indicates that there also have been some bowman?

Thank you for your help and support.
Happy New year to all the Chinese in this forum!

I'm not too sure whether I'm correct. But here is my guessing.

To see whether they are crossbowman or bowman, you will need to look at their hand (how they hold the weapon). My guesses are that they are more likely to be crossbowmans.

Archers were usually placed in double rows so that while one row was shot, the other row could re-load. The archers could fire as many as three arrows simulataneously with the crossbows used in the Qin dynasty.



Kneeling archer carrying crossbow


Kneeling archer terrocotta soldier


Standing archer (more likely to be a crossbower)

GZ, the last one is actually more likely to be a bowman.

Notice that he looks like he's pulling back a bowstring.

You could be right.. yeah I also think it's more like a bowman.. he's pulling the string of the bow.

Hi, I'm in no way, an expert on the Jin Shi Huang Tomb Terra Cotta Soldiers, but I do love archery. From what I see from the pictures, I believe they are all crossbowmen. the position of the hand is not at all suited for the use of the bow. The left hand, which holds the bow, is open and not in a grip. It is dangerous to draw a bow without making a fist around the bow to hold it as the bow will fly out of the hands upon release. It makes more sense if he was holding a crossbow that has a stock larger than his grip (therefore, resulting in the open grip on the terracotta soldiers' hands).

Bows are not suited for kneeling position shot. They can be done, but not in the way as shown by the kneeling terra cotta warriors.

I think if the warriors were archers, they would also hold a terracotta quiver. Quivers and arrows are very noticeable in an archer, and I think the artists who made the soldiers would have put that detail. Crossbowmen would have shot short quarrels, and the bolts would be less conspicuous. It could be that the artists who made the warrior weren't careful enough to make the hands in the proper position, even if they were archers, but from the level of detail I see in the terra cotta warriors, I don't think they were the type of artists who would miss such a detail.

I agree with stimpypacks on the position of the hands, it looks more like he is holding a crossbow.
But also the exact position of th crossbow is not clear for me.
At the beginning of the excavation the "standing archers" were looked upon as they are pugilist doing a militäry drill.

I pit no. 1 there have been found about 279 quivers made of linen and wood, each comprise of about 100 arrows.
Therefore the weapons or in other words the crossbows and arrows were real. Only the warrriors and the armour were made of terracotta.

But what is the reason for having bowmans in the Qin army if the crossbow is so much stronger and more deadly?

Inside the pits of the terracotta army have been found many remains of bows.
The question is now: are these impressions of bows belonging to a crossbow or
have there been, crossbows and bows inside the pits?
What are the arguments for the existence of crossbows and what is pleading for the bows?

In the pits of the terracotta warriors have been excavated about 10.896 scattered bronze arrowheads.
About 279 qivers each with a nearly 100 arrows were found in pit no. 1.
The length of the arrowheads varied form 9.1 to 19.1 cm.
Especially the stem (ting) has got a length between 6.4 to 16.3 cm what
mainly should change the weight of the arrow and therefore increase the penetration.
Can someone distinguish between the arrows made for a crossbow or a bow?

regards,
archer

At least for the standing archer though, I do not think that it looks like a crossbow stance either. His right hand looks like a draw, and the other hand's position does not correspond to how a crossbow should be held. Hmm.

About the clenched fist - you can't really put a bow in the clenched fist of a terracotta warrior.