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How did bowing spread across Eurasia?

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Koto — stringed instrument A Japanese musician plucking the strings of a koto with the right hand to generate a pitch and pressing the strings with the left hand to alter the tone.

The principle of bowing is believed to have originated among the horse cultures of Central Asia around the 9th or 10th century CE. From this region, the technique spread rapidly across Eurasia, facilitated by the movement of nomadic peoples and cultural exchange.12

By 1000 CE, bowed instruments had reached diverse regions, including the Muslim world, China, North Africa, and the Balkans. Evidence of this widespread diffusion is found in the linguistic connection where the word for "horse" is often used for the bridge of the fiddle throughout Eurasia, ranging from Japan (koma) to western Norway (hest).1

In Europe, the bow likely entered through Spain and Italy via Muslim influence, as well as through routes involving the Balkans, Hungary, and Scandinavia. While early bowed instruments were often held vertically, European traditions eventually developed unique methods of holding the fiddle against the shoulder, leading to the evolution of the violin family.12