Archery History

History

Archery history has played an important role throughout civilization; from prehistoric man using his archery skills for hunting for food and protecting himself from predators to modern man who still uses his skills to hunt for food, but also as competitive target shooting.

Prehistoric archers would have used crude bows and arrows made from sticks for the bow and sharpened sticks for arrows. Later on, sharpened bone for arrowheads, probably tying them to their arrow with strips of sinew. Further yet, the Egyptians of 3500 BC used bows as tall as themselves and arrowheads made from flint.

Bringing archery history to another level (about 1500 BC) was the Assyrians development of the much shorter recurve bow, because of the need for easier handling bow and faster and more powerful projectile. The Assyrian archer shot from moving chariots at a time period of 1200-1027 BC.

It was mentioned of the Chinese in archery history to have first used the crossbow at about 1500-1027 BC. The Chinese taught their nobles in special schools, archery, charioteering, mathematics, music, writing and rituals. The first Emperor of China, Qin Shihuang (221 BC) and his Terracotta Army was discovered in 1974 AD. Inside the burial tomb were about 6,000 life size figures including archers, soldiers and horses.

Archery history shows targets were, used as in the Olympic Games of today, as far back as the days of Hercules the Archer. The Greek, Hercules went to war (1260-1240 BC) with the Philoctetes and other Greek warriors Odysseus and Diomedes. They went on to the city of Troy where Hercules killed Paris, the son of the King of Troy. The city of Troy fell when the Greek warriors used the infamous Trojan Horse to enter the city walls while the Trojans slept peacefully.

The Roman Emperor, Diocletian, sentenced St. Sebastian (Patron Saint of Archers, 288 AD) to death by tying him to a stake and then shot to death by arrows. A friend found him later still alive and nursed him back to health. Later he was discovered again and upon admitting to being a Christian, was once again sentenced to death. This time the death sentence included, being beaten with clubs till death. He now lies in a tomb in one of the Seven Principal Churches in Rome. The Romans went on (500 AD) to greatly improve their bow and arrow skills in battle, by drawing the arrow to their faces rather than to their chests, while shooting from horseback or horse drawn chariots. The Avars used stirrups on their saddles so the archer could shoot standing while on horseback, which greatly improved their mobility and accuracy.

In 1363, Englishmen were required to practice only bow and arrow skills excluding any other sport. The English respected skilled archers so much that Robert Hod, better known as Robin Hood, and William Tell would become true legends. William Tell refused to bow down to a noble’s hat on a pole indicating Imperial power and for this reason was ordered to shoot an apple off his sons head. William, being an expert archer, used a crossbow and succeeded. Most variations of this have him using a regular long bow but you now know the real truth!

The bow and arrow was used less and less in war as guns and gunpowder were introduced and become more readily available. But peasants still relied on bows and arrows as a way to hunt for food and for sport. The tournament known as “Ancient Scorton Arrow,” held in Yorkshire 1673 AD, is the oldest archery tournament held even in today’s archery history.

In North America, archaeologists have discovered arrowheads that Native Americans had made, using volcanic rock. These date back to approximately 700 AD. Flint knapping was the method used for making tools, from axes and hatchets to spear heads, arrowheads and knives. They would chip away at rock or volcanic glass to shape it into these desired tools.

Even as the American colonies were established, the North American Indian North American Indian still could only rely on their bow and arrow skills for hunting and protection, and then later for fighting the French Indian War of 1755 to 1760. Between 1700 and 1800, as settlers moved westward, the native American of that region were found to still be using bow and arrows as their primary weapon of choice. Archery was their only source of hunting and protection until they became familiar with the guns that had been brought by soldiers to the west, as they established the first settlers and outposts. They then started using guns for hunting and protection along with bows and arrows.

After the Civil War, confederate soldiers were not allowed to own guns, so they relied on their bow and arrow skills for hunting game for food. Without these skills they would not have been able to support their families.

In 1879 AD, the NAA (National Archery Association) held its first tournament in Chicago Il. U.S.A. The NAA is still used today, by setting the rules and regulations for archery tournaments. Learn more about National Archery Association National Archery Association .

In 1900, archery history again became a part of the Olympic games, but because of different rules used by each country, it was discontinued after 1920 and wasn’t readmitted until 1972, when the Federation International de Tir a l”arc, the international governing body for archery, felt enough countries had adopted their standardized set of rules.In the archery history world as known today, it has had dramatic changes almost every year. Archery equipment is making leaps and bounds almost daily in the hunting and target shooting industry. The use of new materials and advanced engineering methodologies is indeed changing the sport and archery history forever and for the better!

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