The history of archery goes back thousands upon thousands of years. There have been stone arrowheads discovered dating from as far back as over 25,000 years go. As time progressed, recent findings show feathers attached to arrows, the shafts of arrows and the bows themselves, still at least over ten thousand years old. Bows and arrows were originally used mainly for hunting purposes but as time passed they became a deadly and dominating force in warfare.
Archery was practiced in many different emerging civilizations. Notably, the ancient Egyptians were known to have practiced archery for both hunting and battle. The Egyptians widely practiced archery dating back over 5,000 years. The Egyptians are also believed to be the first known cultures to have made composite bows, although it’s now believed that they came upon this technology through the nomadic tribes who used the bows while on horseback.
Using bows on horseback would be a strong military tactic. The Huns, led by Attila, famously used archers on horseback to run rampant through the Roman armies who were themselves short on archers. This is despite the fact that that Alexander the Great had previously used archers to success and famous mythological characters such as Odysseus were said to have used a bow.
Other societies and armies throughout the east also used archery, including the Chinese, the Japanese, the Indians and the Persians. Some of the famous Terracotta soldiers are archers. Additionally, the Native American tribes were also very proficient in archery and used bows and arrows both for hunting and fighting.
While archery remained a powerful tool in eastern cultures, during the Middle Ages in Western Europe, archery was not as popular as is often described. At least not initially, at the start of the Middle Ages when archery as a tool for battle was downgraded and viewed as low class or insignificant. Archers were cheap to train and install into a battle group, because of the relatively inexpensive price of the weapons and the lack of armor needed for the archers at the rear of the battlefield.
One of the deciding factors in this view was the production of the English longbow which wrecked havoc upon the French military at the Battle of Agincourt. The crossbow, which has been known to have existed for at least 2,500 years, was used as well in Medieval warfare as well as by the Eastern cultures, specifically and most prevalently, the Chinese. The crossbow was more forceful and was superior for shorter ranges, while the longbow provided a huge advantage in the distance you could strike with.
As archery became a powerful military weapon, the art of archery was also practiced and celebrated in Medieval culture. However, by the end of the Middle Ages the importance of archery clearly fell off. This is due of course to the development and implementation of gun powder and more advanced and powerful weaponry.
Today, archery is an Olympic sport still practiced by many people. Additionally, some people who hunt opt to use bows and arrows as a way to practice a more natural and fair hunt, as opposed to the super weapons that’s available so easily.
Archery is a skill not easily mastered by many. It takes precision, a steady hand, and focus. Whether it’s out in the woods stalking deer or on the field taking aim at a target, archery, for all it’s advancements, is still primitive in nature and there’s something alluring about that.
Add on top of that the invention of the compound bow and you have a great arsenal of weaponry to choose from. Many cultures used compound bows for hunting as well as competition as the years went by.