How did the bow and arrow become so wideapread in ancient and/or prehistoric times?

by theadVENTUROusCOUPLE

It's always seemed like a fairly complex but of ingenuity for "cavemen," and yet ancient native americans had it, which means that it was brought over when humans first migrated to the continent over the land bridge between present day Russia and Alaska.

Either that, or it was developed independently, and yet with very little variance, by multiple cultures in all corners of the world.

Neither option really make sense to me...

Searocksandtrees

hi! direct responses to your specific questions is definitely welcome, but you may be interested in previous discussions on just this question. I've been hoarding these with a mind to creating a new FAQ section; it hasn't been pared down yet, so hopefully its not too overwhelming ...

In general

In the Americas

Down Under

Note: despite the pile of posts here, this question is actually a good fit for /r/AskAnthropology, so take a look there too