Arrow poison

Poisoned arrows have featured in mythology, notably the Greek story of Heracles slaying the centaur Nessus using arrows poisoned with the blood of the Lernaean Hydra. The Greek hero Odysseus poisons his arrows with hellebore in Homer's Odyssey. Poisoned arrows also figure in Homer's epic about the Trojan War, the Iliad, in which both Achaeans and Trojans used toxic arrows and spears.{{cite book |first=Adrienne |last=Mayor |title=Greek Fire, Poison Arrows and Scorpion Bombs: Biological and Chemical Warfare in the Ancient World |year=2009 |publisher=The Overlook Press |edition=Revised |isbn=978-1-59020-177-0}}

Poisoned arrows were known to be used by many ancient civilizations, including the Gauls, Scythians, and Svans. Ancient Greek and Roman historians describe recipes for poisoning projectiles and historical battles in which poison arrows were used. Alexander the Great encountered poisoned projectiles during his conquest of India (probably dipped in the venom of Russell's viper) and the army of the Roman general Lucullus suffered grievous poison wounds from arrows shot by nomads during the Third Mithridatic War (1st century BC).

In the Kingdom of Kush, arrows were often poison-tipped. There is some indication that poisoned arrows were used in battle against the Romans from 27 BC to 22 BC.David Nicolle, Angus McBride. 1991. Rome's Enemies 5: The Desert Frontier. p. 11-15

Gregory of Tours claimed that during the reign of Emperor Maximus a Roman army was ambushed and destroyed by the Franks in Germany who used arrows poisoned in herb juices. Gregory of Tours, A history of the Franks, Pantianos classics, 1916

The use of poisoned arrows in hunting and warfare by some Native Americans has also been documented.{{cite book |first=David E |last=Jones |title=Poison Arrows: North American Indian Hunting and Warfare |year=2007 |publisher=University of Texas Press |isbn=978-0-292-71428-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m2v8akdyZfwC}}

Over the ages, Chinese warfare has included projectiles poisoned with various toxic substances.{{cite book |first=Ralph D |last=Sawyer |title=The Tao of Deception: Unorthodox Warfare in Historic and Modern China |year=2007 |publisher=Basic Books |isbn=978-0-465-07205-7}}

The modern terms "toxic" and "toxin" derive from the ancient Greek word for "bow", {{lang|grc-Latn|toxon}}, from Old Persian *taxa-, "an arrow".http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=toxic, Online Etymology Dictionary, Retrieved August 7, 2012.http://www.thefreedictionary.com/toxic, The Free Dictionary, Retrieved August 7, 2012. Poisoned arrows are referred to in the Book of Job in the Bible, descriptive of the sufferings experienced by the just man, Job.Job 6:4

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Arrow poisons around the world are created from many sources:

File:Strychnos toxifera - Köhler–s Medizinal-Pflanzen-267.jpg, a plant commonly used in the preparation of curare]]

• Curare is a generic term for arrow poisons that contain tubocurarine, curarine, quinine, protocurarine and related alkaloids. Most frequently it is derived from the bark of Strychnos toxifera, Strychnos guianensis (family Loganiaceae), Chondrodendron tomentosum or Sciadotenia toxifera (family Menispermaceae). Curare is a competitive antagonist that blocks nicotinic acetylcholine receptors on the post synaptic membrane of the neuromuscular junction. It is a muscle relaxant that causes death by paralyzing the respiratory system, resulting in asphyxiation.
• In Africa, many arrow poisons are made from plants that contain cardiac glycosides, such as Acokanthera (possessing ouabain), oleander (Nerium oleander), milkweeds (Asclepias), or Strophanthus, all of which are in the family Apocynaceae. Inee or onaye is a poison made from Strophanthus hispidus, which contains the cardiac glycoside strophanthin. It is used in sub-Saharan West Africa, particularly in the areas of Togo and Cameroon.{{cite web|url=http://websters.wunderdictionary.com/dictionary/def/english/inee.html|title=Definition of inee|publisher=Webster's International Dictionary|year=1913|access-date=2006-08-09|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120216161405/http://websters.wunderdictionary.com/dictionary/def/english/inee.html| archive-date=2012-02-16}} Certain species of the genus Mostuea (family Gelsemiaceae) are used as additives to arrow poisons (other ingredients unspecified). The toxic principles of Mostuea are alkaloids, not cardiac glycosides.Quattrocchi, Umberto (2012). CRC World dictionary of medicinal and poisonous plants: common names, scientific names, eponyms, synonyms and etymology. Vol. IV, M-Q. CRC Press Taylor and Francis Group. page 2564.
• Poisoned arrows and blowgun darts are used widely in the jungle areas of Southeast Asia and South Asia for warfare and hunting. The main plant sources for the poisons are members of the genera Antiaris, Strychnos and Strophanthus. Antiaris toxicaria, a tree of the mulberry and breadfruit family locally known as upas or ancar, is the most commonly used source for arrow poison in various ethnic groups in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. The sap or juice of the seeds is smeared on the arrowhead on its own or mixed with other plant extracts.{{cite journal |last1=Darmadi |first1=Hamid |title=Sumpit (Blowgun) as Traditional Weapons with Dayak High Protection |journal=Journal of Education, Teaching and Learning |date=30 March 2018 |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=113 |doi=10.26737/jetl.v3i1.601|doi-access=free }}{{cite book |last1=Marinas |first1=Amante P. Sr. |title=Blowgun Techniques: The Definitive Guide to Modern and Traditional Blowgun Techniques |date=17 April 2012 |publisher=Tuttle Publishing |isbn=9781462905546}}{{cite news |title=Sumpit: The Filipino blowgun |url=https://www.manilatimes.net/2015/01/24/sports/sumpit-filipino-blowgun/157871/ |access-date=31 January 2021 |work=The Manila Times |date=24 January 2015}}{{cite web|url=http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/asia/object_stories/arrows/index.html|title=Poisoned arrows|publisher=Victoria and Albert Museum|access-date=2006-08-10| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060825134119/http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/asia/object_stories/arrows/index.html| archive-date= 25 August 2006 | url-status= live}} The fast-acting active ingredient (either antiarin, strychnine or strophanthin) attacks the central nervous system causing paralysis, convulsions and cardiac arrest.
• Several species of Aconitum or "aconite," belonging to the buttercup family, have been used as arrow poisons. The Brokpa in Ladakh use Aconitum napellus on their arrows to hunt Siberian ibex; they were in use recently near lake Issyk Kul in Kyrgyzstan.{{cite book |first=George |last=St. George |title=Soviet Deserts and Mountains |location=Amsterdam |publisher=Time-Life International |year=1974}} The Ainu and Matagi of northern Japan used an Aconitum paste called {{Nihongo|surku|スㇽク}} to hunt brown bear and sika, applied to arrows fired from either bows or amappo.{{cite book |last1=萱野 Kayano |first1=茂 Shigeru |title=アイヌの民具 Ainu no mingu |date=January 1, 1978 |publisher=すずさわ書店 Suzusawa Shoten |location=Japan |isbn=978-4795404014 |edition=1st}}{{cite book |first=Michel |last=Peissel |author-link=Michel Peissel |year=1984 |title=The Ants' Gold: The Discovery of the Greek El Dorado in the Himalayas |location=London Harvill Press |pages=99–100 |isbn=9780002725149 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PKpAAAAAMAAJ&q=The+Ants%E2%80%99+Gold.+The+Discovery+of+the+Greek+El+Dorado+in+the+Himalayas}} It was also used by the Butias and Lepchas in Sikkim and Assam.{{cite book |first=Joseph Dalton |last=Hooker |author-link=Joseph Dalton Hooker |title=Himalayan Journals or Notes of a Naturalist |year=1854 |publisher=John Murray |location=London |access-date=2006-09-17 |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/6478 |page=168}}{{cite journal |first=J. H. |last=Hutton |title=The occurrence of the Blow-Gun in Assam |journal=Man |publisher=Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland |volume=24 |date=July 1924 |page=106|doi=10.2307/2788776 |jstor=2788776 }} The Chinese used Aconitum poisons both for hunting{{cite book |first=Yingxing |last=Song |author2=Sun, Shiou-chuan|author3= Sun, E-tu Zen |title=Chinese Technology in the Seventeenth Century: T'ien-kung K'ai-wu |year=1996 |location=Mineola, New York |publisher= Dover Publications |isbn=978-0-486-29593-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fM2Bh6WifHQC |page=267}} and warfare.Chavannes, Édouard. “Trois Généraux Chinois de la dynastie des Han Orientaux. Pan Tch’ao (32-102 p.C.); – son fils Pan Yong; – Leang K’in (112 p.C.). Chapitre LXXVII du Heou Han chou.”. 1906. T’oung pao 7, pp. 226-227.
• The Kalinago of the Caribbean used poisons made from the sap of the manchineel tree (Hippomane mancinella) or sandbox tree (Hura crepitans), both members of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae.{{cite book |first=David E |last=Jones |title=Poison Arrows: North American Indian Hunting and Warfare |year=2007 |publisher=University of Texas Press |isbn=978-0-292-71428-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m2v8akdyZfwC |page=29 |access-date=2009-01-24}}
• Digitoxin has been used for at least 7,000 years as an arrow poison.{{cite journal |last=Bradfield |first=Justin |date=January 23, 2025 |title=Discovery in South Africa holds oldest evidence of mixing ingredients to make arrow poison |url=https://theconversation.com/discovery-in-south-africa-holds-oldest-evidence-of-mixing-ingredients-to-make-arrow-poison-247250 |journal=The Conversation |access-date=January 24, 2025}}

File:Phyllobates_bicolor_frog_on_soil.jpg, a species of poison dart frog whose secretions are used in the preparation of poison darts.]]

• In South America, tribes such as the Noanamá Chocó and Emberá Chocó of western Colombia dip the tips of their blowgun darts in the poison found on the skin of three species of Phyllobates, a genus of poison dart frog. In northern Chocó Department, Phyllobates aurotaenia is used, while P. bicolor is used in Risaralda Department and southern Chocó. In Cauca Department, only P. terribilis is used for dart making. The poison is generally collected by roasting the frogs over a fire, but the steroids in P. terribilis are powerful enough that it is sufficient to rub the dart on the back of the frog without killing it.
• In the northern Kalahari Desert, the most commonly used arrow poison is derived from the larva and pupae of beetles of the genus Diamphidia. It is applied to the arrow either by crushing the larva directly onto the arrow head and mixing it with plant sap to act as a binder, or by mixing a powder made from the dried larva with plant juices and applying that to the arrow tip. The toxin is slow attacking and large animals, including humans, can survive 4–5 days before succumbing to the effects.{{cite web|url=http://www.museums.org.za/bio/insects/beetles/chrysomelidae/arrows.htm |title=How San hunters use beetles to poison their arrows |publisher=Iziko Museums of Cape Town |access-date=2006-08-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060506073955/http://www.museums.org.za/bio/insects/beetles/chrysomelidae/arrows.htm |archive-date=2006-05-06 |url-status=dead }}
• In the United States, Native American tribes {{which?|date=July 2023}} used venomous reptiles to provide the poisons required. In the Southwest United States, the Gila monster, being one of the only two venomous lizards, has been used as a source.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}
• There is evidence of Pacific Island cultures using poison arrow and spear tips. An account from Hector Holthouse's book "Cannibal Cargoes"p. 141 (on the subject of the Australian Pacific Island Labour Trade) describes a canoe, resting on forks in the sand; within the canoe the body of a man rotting in the sun. The unsealed canoe allowing the putrefaction to collect in a notched shallow bowl in which arrow heads and spear tips are soaked. Wounds with these weapons caused tetanus infection.

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The following 17th-century account describes how arrow poisons were prepared in China:

{{blockquote|In making poison arrows for shooting wild beasts, the tubers of wild aconitum are boiled in water. The resulting liquid, being highly viscous and poisonous, is smeared on the sharp edges of arrowheads. These treated arrowheads are effective in the quick killing of both human beings and animals, even though the victim may shed only a trace of blood.}}

• Blowgun
• Bushman poison (disambiguation)
• Fire Arrow
• Fukiya, Japanese blowgun
• Loire style blowgun (French page)

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Category:Archery

Category:Arrow types

Category:Hunting equipment

Category:Projectiles

Category:Poisons