The bow and arrow is a crucial component of Homo sapiens’ material culture. In South America, data on the bow and arrow are widely scattered, which motived this comprehensive compilation of archaeological, ethnohistoric, and ethnographic information. For millennia prior to the bow’s first appearance, hunters relied on the spearthrower. In the Andes around 1650 BCE (3600 BP), knappers began making much smaller projectile points, but it is unclear whether they were for bows. Later, evidence for bow use is strong and widespread: very small lithic points (∼1 cm wide), preserved bows and arrows, and iconography. This evidence is concentrated in two spans: 1) the Middle Horizon (600–1000 CE or 1350–950 BP) and 2) the Late Intermediate, Inca, and early Colonial Periods, when continental trends in demography and conflict peaked (1200–1620 CE or 750–330 BP). Ethnographers have documented bow-using groups in all ecoregions around the continent. They have shown that the bow is deeply integrated into masculine identities. Finally, the interplay of this information informs a critical review of current issues. We identify promising avenues for future research, for example, how to improve metric comparisons and whether the bow’s prevalence derives from continental-scale cultural transmission or independent invention.

弓箭是智人的重要组成部分'物质文化。在南美洲，关于弓箭的数据分布广泛，这推动了考古、民族历史和民族志信息的综合汇编。在弓首次出现之前的几千年里，猎人一直依赖投矛器。在公元前 1650 年左右（公元前 3600 年）的安第斯山脉，knappers 开始制造更小的射弹点，但尚不清楚它们是否用于弓箭。后来，使用弓箭的证据有力而广泛：非常小的岩屑点（约 1 厘米宽）、保存完好的弓箭和图像。该证据集中在两个跨度：1) 中间地平线（公元 600-1000 年或公元前 1350-950 年）和 2) 中晚期、印加和早期殖民时期，当时大陆人口趋势和冲突达到顶峰（1200-1620 CE 或 750–330 BP）。民族志学家记录了非洲大陆所有生态区的弓箭使用群体。他们已经表明，蝴蝶结深深地融入了男性身份。最后，这些信息的相互作用为对当前问题的批判性审查提供了信息。我们为未来的研究确定了有前途的途径，例如，如何改进度量比较，以及弓的流行是来自大陆规模的文化传播还是独立发明。