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In beginning all bows were longbows.
This is standard longbow, and it is clear that string is completely free from touching the bow from the nock to nock.. As you pull it draw curve is pretty straight from the start without suprizes.
When it is pulled string have same length from points where it touch the bow as in relaxed bow.
Lets move further.
Static recurves are next step up from the longbows. They have levers on the end of the limbs, and string is attached on the end of the levers. So working parts of the limbs are shorter storing greater power, and nocks are pulled in front, like in very deflexed bow. Because of that pull weight is greater from the start.
The advantage of a Scythian recurve is that nock ends are pulled forward, so in short bow string will not sall from the nocks when fully drawn. But that isn't only advantage of static recurve if it is constructed properly. Further development concentrate on that.
The Scythians and other Asiatic people started laying string on the bow at the start of the shyahs. Thus, at the beginning they were pulling short stroud bow. Let us say with shyah length of 4" each and strung bow length of 55" at the beginning you are pulling 45" bow.. Well short bow of same dimensions as longer bow is much harder to pull, and that short bow at the start of pulling thinks he is going to 100# @ 29 draw length. So draw curve is very steep.. But at one point, string is straight and lift from the shyahs.. At that point 45" bow with 100# @ 29 suddenly becomes much longer bow and starts to draw 50# @ 29.. What is the trick. It lowers progress of drawing curve suddenly, and it can go much flatter from that point, and more important surface of diagram which represent stored energy is much bigger than on longbow.. So that means automatically that arrow speed will be greater.
Thus perfect static recurve with this clever invention added is much more powerful than previous one, storing about 30% more energy per same draw weight. This one is also old, assyrian bow, from which all others emerge. In drawn state the string starts to lift from the shyahs late, and it is pretty hard to pull, having almost compound effect. It is efficient and fast.
Turkish bows have little shorter shyahs, but even more angled, so effect of them is pretty pronounced. This wasn't the end of development. After static recurves men developed working end recurves. One on the border was Indopersian one, and working ends recurves developed in India. The shyahs still don't bend, but back part of them is curved, so string is lifting continually as you pull the bow, and draw curve isn't straight any more, but curved, and looks even more like compound one.
In the modern working recurve the ends are fully working, making even more important thing, opening and getting straighter as bow is drawn. So curve is even more curved and bow stack less.
