Throughout the world we possess evidence of early archery, even found in areas where at one time it has been assumed that the bow and arrow was not used, such as Australia.



It is considered that archery in all likelihood goes back to approximately 20,000 BC which was in the Stone Age; even so the ancient Egyptians are accredited as being the first humans to have made use of the bow and arrow. Archery was embraced by the early Egyptians at least 5000 years ago for the intention of both hunting and combat.

In 1200 BC the Hittites, an ancient people who lived in what is what is now known as Turkey and northern Syria, used the bow and arrow from fast, light chariots that enabled them to become dreaded opponents in Middle Eastern battles.

Their neighbours called the Assyrians, who emerged in Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria similarly made use of archery extensively. They recast the bow to a recurve shape that was shorter and substantially much more powerful enabling them to be used a lot more easily by a bowman on a horse. They also implemented assorted diverse types of materials to build bows like sinew, horn and wood.

Inside China archery may be traced as far back as the Shang dynasty which took place between 1766 and 1027 BC when war chariots three people the driver, lancer and bowman.

During the following Zhou dynasty 1027-256 BC the Chinese nobles at court enjoyed seeing archery sporting contests that were played out along with music and a considerable amount of fanfare.

The Chinese introduced civil archery to Japan around the six century and it had an overriding influence on later techniques and etiquette. One of Japan�s martial arts now known as kyudo (way of the bow) continues to be taught in Japan in the traditional manner. A bow over 2 metres long and made of bamboo, wood and laminated strips is used for shooting a target set in a roofed over bank of sand.

During the Geco-Roman period, the bow was utilized more for personal exploits or hunting than it was for warfare, Archery is frequently depicted on pottery dating to that time.

The Romans are not believed to have been very good archers, more than likely because up until the 5th century the bows they used were shot by drawing the string back to the chest rather than the face which gives the arrow far more accuracy.

Foes like the Parthians possessed far better expertise; they were accomplished horseback riders who were skilled at shooting rearwards by spinning in the saddle frequently at a full gallop.

The supremacy of the archery equipment and forms applied by the people of the Middle East persisted for centuries. Attila the Hun and his Mongolians, using bows comparable to those of the Parthians and Assyrians, defeated a great deal of Asia and Europe and the Crusaders were driven away by Turkish bowmen.

The bow was a means of survival during the days of English and later American colonization and still is in some countries on the African continent

The popularity of archery has also been communicated in numerous songs and folklore, in all probability the most famous being Robin Hood, what is more archery is also repeatably mentioned in Greek mythology.

The earliest acknowledged coordinated archery contest included 3000 participants and was accommodated at Finsbury, England in 1583.

By the time of the European 30 Year War between 1618 and 1648 due to the introduction of guns, it had become obvious that he bow and arrow as a weapon system belonged to a foregone era.

Since that time, archery is has become extremely popular as a recreational sport.