The History of Archery

Archery, in its earliest form, can be dated back nearly 50,000 years, originally used for hunting. It eventually became the primary weapon used in warfare. Civilizations in nearly every part of the world are known to have used archery throughout history, proving the basic intuitiveness of archery as well as its versatility. Many civilizations incorporated large numbers of archers into their armies, which often proved very advantageous in battle.

However, in medieval armies, archers were usually the poorest and lowest-paid position in the army. This was because the cost of a bow was much lower than that of swords and armor needed for most soldiers. The bow was also viewed as a lower-class weapon and rarely decided the outcome of a battle.

This was all changed by the Vikings, who used bows and arrows to a great extent and were very successful by doing so. Eventually, European armies began using mass amounts of archers as a tactical means of lowering opposing armies’ numbers, which proved very important in wars to come. Archers were brought up from the farming population and trained from childhood with individual bows. Around this time was when archery contests began being held, sponsored by the army in order to promote proficiency with a bow.

Crossbows became very popular because, while training someone to use a longbow took many years, one could become proficient and accurate with a crossbow in a very short amount of time. The crossbow also sacrificed little to no firepower, range or accuracy to the longbow. Its one drawback was the excessive amount of time it took to reload a crossbow, but it was still very popular in the middle ages.

Asian countries were very proficient with a bow as well. Asian archers would ride up on horse back and fire one arrow while approaching, then turn around in their saddle and fire another arrow at the same target as they rode away. In Asia, archers used a much different technique than Western archers, and the bows and arrows were even designed differently. For example, Asian arrows tended to be less stiff and to have smaller heads.

Warriors using bows often wore leather gauntlets and helmets with ridges to protect themselves from their own bow.

Foot bows were also used sometimes. A foot bow archer would place their feet in the bow and pull the arrow back with their arms, using the strength in their legs and back for power. Foot bows gained more range and firepower over longbows and crossbows. While they sacrificed accuracy, the size and weight of the arrows that could be used caused such destructive force that aim mattered little.

Today, the most popular form of archery is target archery, where people compete for accuracy from set distances. Usually, the goal is to fire arrows as close to the center of a target as possible, and the closest shot to the center of the target is the winner of the competition. There are different sections of a target in which each arrow earns an archer a certain number of points, the outermost section being worth the least and the center area being worth the most points. Archery is primarily a recreational activity today and is rarely used for anything but target practice.