Writing: documentary evidence

In China, arrow poisons have been known to the Han and other peoples for at least 2500 years. They were used for both hunting and warfare, and documentary evidence indicates that the principal source of poison was Aconitum, the tubers of which yield aconitine. The same poison was also used in ancient India, where it was called visha and derived from a plant known as Bish. The hymns of the Rg Veda and Atharva Veda (1200-900 bc) show that poisoned arrows were used in war, and that the tubers of Aconitum were the major poison source. Later Buddhist and Sanskrit writings indicate the continued use of poisoned arrows and reveal that a second source of poison was decomposing snakes. 

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