Archery - History

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The history of archery goes back to 72,000 BC when bows and arrows were made in Africa. The oldest bows do not exist but it is estimated that they were invented in the period of late Paleolithic or early Mesolithic which is about 10,000 years ago.

The bows and arrows were later developed in different parts of the world. If we talk about Asia, warriors used short bows while riding a horse. Yew was used to make long bows in England which helped in improving the military power.

History in different periods

Now we will discuss history of archery in different periods

Prehistoric Times

Bows were the main weapon of war in pre-historic times. Some of them were poisonous. The history goes long back to 72,000 BC to 60,000 BC in South Africa where arrowheads were found. Small stone points were also found in France which dates back to 54,000 years ago.

These points show the evidence of a projectile weapon whose size was less than 10mm. Arrowheads were also found in the Fa Hien caves in Sri Lanka which date back to 48,000 years ago. The pieces of evidence show that in Sri Lanka, bows and arrows were used to shoot small animals like monkeys, squirrels, etc.

Bladelets were found in Kenya which were pierced into the human skull which shows that bows and arrows were used as weapons 10,000 years ago. All these evidences show that the bow was introduced in Eurasia in the upper Paleolithic period.

Archery came from Stellmoor to Europe 11,000 years ago. Pine was used for making arrows whose length was 6 to 8 inches and had a flint point.

Neolithic Period

The oldest bow in this period is 7,400 years old and belongs to Spain. It was made up of Yew wood and was in the shape of a D letter. The forts of the European Neolithic show that archery was the major weapon of fighting.

Bronze Age

In Europe, India, and Eastern Asia, archery became a great weapon for warfare. The popularity of archery in warfare started declining after the invention of gunpowder. In this period, mounted archery became a feature of Eurasian nomad culture which helped in military success. Later mass usage of guns declined the usage of archery in warfare. This led archery to be developed as a sport. The first competition of archery was organized in 1583 in England. The number of participants was 3,000.

History of Archery in different countries

Now we will discuss the development of archery in different countries. A large number of archers were available in India, Persia, Japan, Egypt, etc. Archers were the main group in a war and their attack was decisive. The term that was used for archery in Sanskrit is dhanurveda. Now we will see the history of archery in different countries.

North Africa

The archery was popular in ancient Egypt during the time of Pharaohs. At that time the technique was used in warfare and also for hunting purposes. Tomb of Thebes has different figures which shows that lessons in archery are being given to the trainees. Besides this, there are many deities of Egypt that were related to archery. The external enemies of Egypt were depicted by nine bows and one such example is the seated statue of Pharaoh Djoser.

Most archers belonged to Nubian extraction which provided their service to Egypt. They were so expert in the art of archery that Ancient Egyptians called Nubia as the land of bow.

Mesopotamia

Bow and arrow were used by the Assyrians and Babylonians for hunting purposes. The ancient empires of Mesopotamia also used archery in warfare. Training was given to the archers and then they were employed to show their talent in wars. Archers used to fight either on foot or on chariots. Kassites had chariot warriors that were dependent on archery as a major weapon for warfare.

Eurasian Steppes

During the bronze age, European Steppes introduced a composite bow which became popular in the old world. These composite bows were introduced by the nomads from Eurasia to different civilizations like Mesopotamia, East Asia, India, Iran, and Europe. It is also believed that they introduced chariots with spoked wheels which were used in the Indo-European militaries. It is also believed that Eurasian Steppes introduced the domestication of horses and used bow and arrow while riding them.

India

In the Indian subcontinent, archery was extensively used in warfare. The paintings of Bhimbetka rock shelters give a picture of archery. The archery is also mentioned in Rigveda, Yajurveda, and Atharvaveda. Dhanurveda can be found in Yajurveda which includes the knowledge of using bow and arrow and its usage in warfare.

Dhanurveda or the science of archery can also be found in the Visnu Purana and Mahabharata. The rules of archery are available in the Dhanurveda and it also includes the ways to train the people to become perfect archers. Different types of bows and arrows were also mentioned in this book along with the process of making them.

Indians also started using the composite bow on foot and chariots in the 2nd millennium BCE. The usage of archery continued in the Maurya empire. In the same period, Chanakya wrote Arthshastra which included economic and military strategies. A mention of an archery school in Taxila can also be found where training was given to 103 prices. Foot archers were a part of the army in the Gupta empire. The archery was used in India until the introduction of firearms by Mongols.

Greco Roman Antiquity

Archery was practiced by the people of Crete and this led to a high demand for Cretan archers. Alexander the Great included a larger number of archers in his army. The army of Romans included very few archers and later they had to employ archers trained in other countries.

The armies of Julius Caesar included Cretan archers. Archers with composite bows became a part of the Roman army in the whole empire. The Romans were pressurized when the Hun invaders used mounted archers in their army.

East Asia

Ancient Chinese culture also included archery. Confucius also taught archery to his students. One of the famous Chinese archers was Lie Zi who was also a Daoist philosopher. Crossbows were developed in China which helped the Han invaders to win the battles against the nomad invaders. With the expansion of Chinese culture, the techniques of archery were also diversified.

Europe

Short bows were used in Europe for warfare and hunting. The design of the arrows was the same as ancient period but the material used to make them was different as it was able to kill or injure an unarmored man if the range was close. In the early medieval period, usage of short bows was extensive and was used by unarmored archers.

The crossbow came to Europe in the 10^thcentury. The range of these arrows was very high and accurate. These arrows also had great penetration power. Crusades used these crossbows as they could pierce into the armor and also kill a horse. French armies also used crossbows.

Longbow was introduced in Europe in the 13th century and archers who used them were mostly peasants and yeomen. The rate of firing of a long bow is much higher than a short bow. Skill, training, and strength were needed to use a long bow. The long bow lacked accuracy so mass archers were used to attack the enemy. The last usage of the longbow was done in the final clan battle between the MacDonalds and the Mackintoshes. After the long bow, the McNaughton bow was introduced which was used by Highlanders.

Middle East

The composite bow was preferred in the Middle East as its power was more than that of the short bow. These composite bows could be easily shot from the horse back. Skilled craftsmen were able to make these bows. Mounted archers were included in the army of the Byzantine Empire and the ways of its usage were imposed by Emperor Mavrikios.

Mounted archers were also used by the tribes in Turkey against the first European Crusade. The aim of the archers was to damage the infantry of the European army to prevent their march

Asia

Genghis Khan and his successors had a Mongol army that consisted of mounted warriors. These warriors had Mongol bows which were similar to the recurve composite bow and were made by using leather, horn, and wood. Animal sinew was also a part of making the bow. All these items were held together with the help of fish glue. In order to make the bow waterproof, tree bark was used. Archers can shoot the arrows accurately in the range of 700 to 800 meters.

Two types of bows were used by the warriors. The short bow was used for short range and the long bow for long range. Some of the arrows also have the feature of piercing into the armor. The military of Korea was adopted from China in which archery skills were included. Later Korean archery became a practical martial art.

Declination of Archery

The usage of archery in warfare started declining after the introduction of gunpowder. Though archery was famous but gradually the usage of firearms was adopted by all the cultures. Early firearms were not very useful and they were very sensitive to the wet weather.

Armies were loaded with guns which increased their firepower and this made the highly trained archers obsolete. In a few countries like Korea and China, the usage of archery continued.

Archery usage for recreation

England started using archery as a game and one of the early societies for archery was Finsbury Archers while another one was Kilwinning Papingo. Kilwinning Papingo used to arrange competitions in which a wooden parrot had to be shot which was located at the top of the abbey tower.

One of the oldest archery sporting bodies was the Company of Scottish Archers which was formed in 1676. Toxophilite Society was formed in 1781 in London by Sir Ashton Lever. Many archery societies were formed later and had their own rules for entry.

Modern Archery Sport

The recreation of archery was turned into a sport in the 1840s when a Grand National Archery Society meeting was held in New York. Many rules were made which included shooting of arrows at 60, 80, and 100 yards. New archery techniques were suggested and developed by Horace A Ford. He was the winner of the Grand International tournament 11 times. By the end of the 19th century, other games like croquet and tennis developed which led to the decline of the archery sport. Only 50 archery clubs remained in Britain by the end of 1889.

Archery was a part of the 1900 Olympics held in Paris. The game also developed in Korea and China and craftsmen were asked to develop bows and arrows in China. In modern times, mounted archery has also become a famous sport. Archery has become the national sport of the Kingdom of Bhutan.

Professional archery was developed in the 1920s in which recurve and compound bows were used. American enthusiasts gave priority to the traditional bows. Fred Bear is considered as a developer of modern archery game. He was a bow manufacturer and bow hunter.

Archery in the Olympics, Paralympics, and World Games

The sport was included in the Olympics in 1900, 1908, and 1920. In order to provide a permanent place for archery in the Olympics, World Archery was founded in 1931. After 1920, the game disappeared and returned back in 1972.

After 1972, the game was permanently included in the Olympics. Recurve bows were used to take part in the target archery events. Archery also became a part of the Paralympic Games in the 1960s. Para archery events were held in which impaired athletes took part to show their talents by using recurve and compound bow.

Archery also became a part of the World Games in 1985 and recurve and barebow were used to take part in the event. A compound bow was added to the World Game in 2013.