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Overview of Archery History
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There is no sport as romantic and deeply imbedded in our culture and history as Archery. Until there were guns, only some 500 years ago, the Archer dominated the world for much of known history.
Scholars trace the origins of archery to the Aurignacian era, roughly 25,000 years prior to the modern times.[1] The bow probably originated for use in hunting and was then adopted as a tool of warfare. Bows eventually replaced the atlatl, as the predominant means for launching projectiles.
Classical civilizations fielded large numbers of archers in their armies; archery was important military and hunting skill before the use of gunpowder. Arrows proved destructive against enemy formations and the use of archers often proved decisive. Mounted horse archer combined range with speed and mobility. Archery also figured prominently in the mythologies of many cultures
History of Archery - Wikipedia
Some scholars trace the origins of archery to the Aurignacian era, roughly 25,000 years prior to the modern times.[1] The bow probably originated for use in hunting and was then adopted as a tool of warfare. Bows eventually replaced the atlatl, as the predominant means for launching projectiles.
Classical civilizations fielded large numbers of archers in their armies; archery was important military and hunting skill before the use of gunpowder. Arrows proved destructive against enemy formations and the use of archers often proved decisive. Mounted horse archer combined range with speed and mobility. Archery also figured prominently in the mythologies of many cultures. Contents
Egypt
The ancient Egyptian people took to archery as early as 5000 years ago. Archery was widespread by the time of the earliest pharaohs and was practiced both for hunting and use in warfare. The Egyptians used the bow and arrow against the ancient Persians, who were equipped by with spears and slingshot at the time.
In the Louvre. There are Archers frieze from Darius palace in in Susa on Silicious glazed bricks, c. 510 BC. Also, Legendary figures from the tombs of Thebes are depicted giving lessons in archery. Some Egyptian deities are also connected to archery.
Mesopotamia
The Assyrians and Babylonians extensively used the bow and arrow; the Old Testament has multiple references to archery as a skill identified with the ancient Hebrews.[1]
The Chariot warriors of the Kassites relied heavily on the bow. The Nuzi texts detail the bows and the number of arrows assigned to the chariot crew. Archery was essential to the role of the light horse drawn chariot as a vehicle of warfare.
Indian Subcontinent
The bow and arrow constituted the classical Indian weapon of warfare, from the Vedic period, until the advent of Islam.[5] The Aryans used bows and arrows, often on war chariots.[6] Some Rigvedic hymns lay emphasis on the use of the bow and arrow.[7] Detailed accounts of training methodologies in early India concern archery, considered to be an essential martial skill in early India.
Legendary figures like Drona, are shown to be masters in the art of archery.[9] Mythological figures such as Arjun, Eklavya, Karna, Rama, Laxman, Bharat and Shatrughan are also associated with archery.
China
Chinese use of archery dates back to the Shang dynasty. The Chinese used war chariots with archers. The following Zhou dynasty saw contests of archery being held in the presence of nobility.[1] By the end of the Zhou period, works on history, music, ritual, archery, and other topics were recorded on bamboo or wood. Shang army officer categories included the ya and shi (commanders), ma (chariot officers), and she (archery officers).[11]
North America
Use of bow and arrow was widely known among the indigenous peoples of North America, from pre-Columbian times. An archery game was widely practiced among the tribes north of Mexico which involved shooting at a hoop rolled with a forked stick. Points were scored based on how the arrow landed. The competition was popularly related to notions of fertility. [12]
Europe
The people of Crete practiced archery and Cretan mercenary archers were in great demand.[13] Crete was known for its unbroken tradition of archery.[14] The Greek god Apollo is the god of medicine, music, archery, prophecy, and light; Odysseus and other mythological figures are often depicted with a bow.
The early Romans had very few archers, if any. As their empire grew, they recruited auxiliary archers from other nations. By the 300s, archers with powerful composite bows were a regular part of Roman armies throughout the empire. After the fall of the western empire, the Romans came under severe pressure from the highly skilled horse archers belonging to the Hun invaders, and later Eastern Roman armies relied heavily on mounted archery.[15]
During the invasion of India, Alexander the Great personally took command of the shield-bearing guards, foot-companions, archers, Agrianians and horse-javelin-men and led them against the Kamboja clans-the Aspasios of Kunar valleys, the Guraeans of the Guraeus (Panjkora) valley, and the Assakenois of the Swat and Buner valleys.[16]
Middle ages
During the Middle Ages, archery in warfare was not as prevalent and dominant, in Western Europe, as popular myth dictates. Archers were quite often the lowest paid soldiers in an army or were conscripted from the peasantry. This was due to the cheap nature of the bow and arrow, as compared to the expense needed to equip a professional man-at-arms with good Armour and a sword. The bow was seldom used to decide battles and viewed as a "lower class weapon" or as a toy, by the nobility. However, among the Vikings, even royalty such as Magnus Barelegs used archery effectively, and the Muslims used archery, presumably also in their numerous raiding expeditions all over the Western European seaboard, in the 9th and 10th centuries.
By the time of the Hundred Years' War, the English had learned how to employ massed archery as an instrument of tactical dominance, with their English longbows. Tournaments were sponsored, to encourage archery and proficiency with many great and lavish prizes for winners of the tournaments. There was therefore much motivation and incentive to become an expert with the longbow and the various English kings were able to recruit thousands of archers per year with this efficient system.
The advent of the bodkin point also gave arrows better penetrative power. The crossbow became quite popular during the Middle Ages. However, The renowned armour-piercing power of the crossbow caused fear amongst the well-armoured nobility. It was therefore banned by the Second Council of the Lateran, although to little avail.
