The discovery of an engraved bow motif on a stele at Vale Maria do Meio (Portugal), similar to examples in western France, enables us to integrate the representation of this weapon into the iconography of the fifth millennium BC. The starting point for this comparative exercise is Brittany, where recent discoveries (Runesto) and unpublished sites (Mané Kerioned B) can be added to passage graves where the motif has been recognised for some time, such as Ile Longue, Gavrinis, and Barnenez H. An engraved capstone which is found in a funerary context at Le Déhus, in the Channel Islands, can be incorporated into the same Armorican tradition, while an example from the Paris Basin (Le Berceau) seems to belong to another geographic and cultural group. Following a summary of the technique of recording of recent discoveries (photogrammetry, lasergrammetry, digital photos with turning lights, digital enhancement of carvings), and a history of the west European corpus, this paper will compare the morphology of the motifs and their archaeological contexts; we will conclude with a consideration of the associations of the motifs and the general impact of their representation, through a discussion of these places of transition.