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3D engineering simulations for evaluating arrowheads: an example for the comparison of arrowheads with different tang lengths from the Turkic Khaganate period

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Abstract

Arrowheads belonging to the Eurasian nomads in the Middle Ages constitute a rich database, allowing an evaluation of cultural interaction in this region. However, the written sources required to interpret this rich archaeological heritage are very scarce, and the information in these sources is rather superficial. For this reason, different methods have been used to evaluate the archaeological heritage in the region. One of the most reliable of these methods is the reconstructions based on archaeological findings and the experiments performed with these reconstructions. However, the production of these reconstructions requires time, financial support and experts to produce. This paper focuses on the use of 3D simulation software, Ansys, which can offer a theoretical substitute to these costly experiments. To check the reliability of this software, 3D models of arrowheads with different tang lengths belonging to the Turk Khaganate, one of the foremost cultures in Eurasia, were simulated striking an armour plate belonging to this period.

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Notes

  1. The political history of this state is studied in two separate periods as the First Turkic Khaganate and the Second Turkic Khaganate. The First Turkic Khaganate was established in 552 after succeeding the Rouran Khaganate as the hegemonic power of the Mongolian Plateau and rapidly expanded its territories in Central Asia and became a transcontinental empire from Manchuria to the Black Sea (Map 1). Turkic Khaganate was the first Turkic state to use the name ‘Türk’. After 603, the state separated into the Eastern Turkic Khaganate and the Western Turkic Khaganate. The Tang Empire conquered the Eastern Turkic Khaganate in 630 and the Western Turkic Khaganate in 657. The Second Turkic Khaganate emerged in 682 and lasted until 744 when it was overthrown by the Uyghur Khaganate (Gumilev 2019; Taşağıl, 2018; Mau-Tsai 2011; Togan  et al. 2017; Anthony 2007).

  2. There are also examples on ‘Birch wood’ in mediaeval Turkish written sources. In the Book of Dedem Qorqut, it is possible to see this term as ‘birch arrow with three feathers (üç yelekli kayın ok)’ (Tezcan and Boeschoten 2012; Temizkan and Çoban 2015).

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  1. Department of Social, Economic and Political Relations in Turkish World, Institute of Turkish World Studies, Ege University, Izmir, Turkey

    Recep Efe Coban

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Coban, R. 3D engineering simulations for evaluating arrowheads: an example for the comparison of arrowheads with different tang lengths from the Turkic Khaganate period. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 13, 140 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-021-01389-y

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