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File:ArcheryGermanyEarly1980s-2.jpg

Archery competition in June 1983 at Mönchengladbach, West Germany

File:Brazilarcher.jpg

A Rikbaktsa archer competes at Brazil's Indigenous Games

File:Bundesarchiv Bild 135-S-18-07-16, Tibetexpedition, Volksfest, Bogenschütze.jpg

Tibetan archer, 1938

File:Master Heon Kim.jpg

Master Heon Kim demonstrating Gungdo, traditional Korean archery (Kuk Kung), 2009

File:Bogenschützen in Ili-Mano 2.jpg

Archers in East Timor

File:Toshi-ya.JPG

Japanese archer

File:Archery in Bhutan.jpg

Archery in Bhutan

File:DEGAN Gabin ( archery).jpg

Female Archer in Benin

Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.[1] The word comes from the Latin arcus, meaning bow.[2] Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In modern times, it is mainly a competitive sport and recreational activity. A person who practices archery is typically called an archer, bowman, or toxophilite.[3]

History[]

Main article: History of archery

Origins and ancient archery[]

The oldest known evidence of the bow and arrow comes from South African sites such as Sibudu Cave, where the remains of bone and stone arrowheads have been found dating approximately 72,000 to 60,000 years ago.[4][5][6][7][8][9] Based on indirect evidence, the bow also seems to have appeared or reappeared later in Eurasia, near the transition from the Upper Paleolithic to the Mesolithic. The earliest definite remains of bow and arrow from Europe are possible fragments from Germany found at Mannheim-Vogelstang dated 17,500 to 18,000 years ago, and at Stellmoor dated 11,000 years ago. Azilian points found in Grotte du Bichon, Switzerland, alongside the remains of both a bear and a hunter, with flint fragments found in the bear's third vertebra, suggest the use of arrows at 13,500 years ago.[10] Other signs of its use in Europe come from the Template:Interlanguage link in the Template:Interlanguage link north of Hamburg, Germany and dates from the late Paleolithic, about 10,000–9000 BC. The arrows were made of pine and consisted of a main shaft and a Template:Convert fore shaft with a flint point. There are no definite earlier bows; previous pointed shafts are known, but may have been launched by spear-throwers rather than bows. The oldest bows known so far comes from the Holmegård swamp in Denmark. At the site of Nataruk in Turkana County, Kenya, obsidian bladelets found embedded in a skull and within the thoracic cavity of another skeleton, suggest the use of stone-tipped arrows as weapons about 10,000 years ago.[11] Bows eventually replaced the spear-thrower as the predominant means for launching shafted projectiles, on every continent except Australasia, though spear-throwers persisted alongside the bow in parts of the Americas, notably Mexico and among the Inuit.

Bows and arrows have been present in Egyptian and neighbouring Nubian culture since its respective predynastic and Pre-Kerma origins. In the Levant, artifacts that could be arrow-shaft straighteners are known from the Natufian culture, (c. 10,800–8,300 BC) onwards. The Khiamian and PPN A shouldered Khiam-points may well be arrowheads.

Classical civilizations, notably the Assyrians, Greeks, Armenians, Persians, Parthians, Romans, Indians, Koreans, Chinese, and Japanese fielded large numbers of archers in their armies. Akkadians were the first to use composite bows in war according to the victory stele of Naram-Sin of Akkad.[12] Egyptians referred to Nubia as "Ta-Seti," or "The Land of the Bow," since the Nubians were known to be expert archers, and by the 16th Century BC Egyptians were using the composite bow in warfare.[13] The Bronze Age Aegean Cultures were able to deploy a number of state-owned specialized bow makers for warfare and hunting purposes already from the 15th century BC.[14] The Welsh longbow proved its worth for the first time in Continental warfare at the Battle of Crécy.[15] In the Americas archery was widespread at European contact.[16]

Archery was highly developed in Asia. The Sanskrit term for archery, dhanurvidya, came to refer to martial arts in general. In East Asia, Goguryeo, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea was well known for its regiments of exceptionally skilled archers.[17][18]

Medieval archery[]

The medieval shortbow was technically identical with the classical era bows, having a range of approximately Template:Convert. It was the primary ranged weapon of the battlefield through the early medieval period. Around the tenth century the crossbow was introduced in Europe. Crossbows generally had a longer range, greater accuracy and more penetration than the shortbow, but suffered from a much slower rate of fire. Crossbows were used in the early Crusades, with models having a range of Template:Convert and being able to penetrate armour or kill a horse.[19]

During the late medieval period the English army famously relied on massed archers armed with the longbow. The French army relied more on the crossbow.[20] Like their predecessors archers were more likely to be peasants or yeomen than men-at-arms. The longbow had a range of up to Template:Convert. However its lack of accuracy at long ranges made it a mass weapon rather than an individual one. Significant victories attributable to the longbow, such as the Battle of Crecy[21] and Battle of Agincourt resulted in the English longbow becoming part of military lore.

Mounted archery[]

Main article: Mounted archery
File:Maximilian 1470.png

Hunting for flying birds from the back of a galloping horse was considered the top category of archery. The favourite hobby of Prince Maximilian, engraved by Dürer

Tribesmen of Central Asia (after the domestication of the horse) and American Plains Indians (after gaining access to horses by Europeans)[22] became extremely adept at archery on horseback. Lightly armoured, but highly mobile archers were excellently suited to warfare in the Central Asian steppes, and they formed a large part of armies that repeatedly conquered large areas of Eurasia. Shorter bows are more suited to use on horseback, and the composite bow enabled mounted archers to use powerful weapons.[23] Seljuk Turks used mounted archers against the European First Crusade, especially at the Battle of Dorylaeum (1097). Their tactic was to shoot at the enemy infantry, and use their superior mobility to prevent the enemy from closing with them. Empires throughout the Eurasian landmass often strongly associated their respective "barbarian" counterparts with the usage of the bow and arrow, to the point where powerful states like the Han Dynasty referred to their neighbours, the Xiong-nu, as "Those Who Draw the Bow".[24] For example, Xiong-nu mounted bowmen made them more than a match for the Han military, and their threat was at least partially responsible for Chinese expansion into the Ordos region, to create a stronger, more powerful buffer zone against them.[24] It is possible that "barbarian" peoples were responsible for introducing archery or certain types of bows to their "civilized" counterpartsTemplate:Sndthe Xiong-nu and the Han being one example. Similarly, short bows seem to have been introduced to Japan by northeast Asian groups.[25]

Decline of archery[]

The development of firearms rendered bows obsolete in warfare, although efforts were sometimes made to preserve archery practice. In England and Wales, for example, the government tried to enforce practice with the longbow until the end of the 16th century.[26] This was because it was recognized that the bow had been instrumental to military success during the Hundred Years' War. Despite the high social status, ongoing utility, and widespread pleasure of archery in Armenia, China, Egypt, England and Wales, the Americas, India, Japan, Korea, Turkey and elsewhere, almost every culture that gained access to even early firearms used them widely, to the neglect of archery. Early firearms were inferior in rate-of-fire, and were very sensitive to wet weather. However, they had longer effective range[18] and were tactically superior in the common situation of soldiers shooting at each other from behind obstructions. They also required significantly less training to use properly, in particular penetrating steel armor without any need to develop special musculature. Armies equipped with guns could thus provide superior firepower, and highly trained archers became obsolete on the battlefield. However, the bow and arrow is still an effective weapon, and archers have seen military action in the 21st century.[27][28][29] Traditional archery remains in use for sport, and for hunting in many areas.

18th century revival as a sport[]

File:The meeting of the Royal British Bowmen in the grounds of Erthig, Denbighshire.jpeg

A print of the 1822 meeting of the "Royal British Bowmen" archery club.

Early recreational archery societies included the Finsbury Archers and the Ancient Society of Kilwinning Archers. The latter's annual Papingo event was first recorded in 1483. (In this event, archers shoot vertically from the base of an abbey tower to dislodge a wood pigeon placed approximately Template:Convert above.)[30] The Royal Company of Archers was formed in 1676 and is one of the oldest sporting bodies in the world.[31] Archery remained a small and scattered pastime, however, until the late 18th century when it experienced a fashionable revival among the aristocracy. Sir Ashton Lever, an antiquarian and collector, formed the Toxophilite Society in London in 1781, with the patronage of George, the Prince of Wales.

Archery societies were set up across the country, each with its own strict entry criteria and outlandish costumes. Recreational archery soon became extravagant social and ceremonial events for the nobility, complete with flags, music and 21-gun salutes for the competitors. The clubs were "the drawing rooms of the great country houses placed outside" and thus came to play an important role in the social networks of the local upper class. As well as its emphasis on display and status, the sport was notable for its popularity with females. Young women could not only compete in the contests but retain and show off their sexuality while doing so. Thus, archery came to act as a forum for introductions, flirtation and romance.[32] It was often consciously styled in the manner of a Medieval tournament with titles and laurel wreaths being presented as a reward to the victor. General meetings were held from 1789, in which local lodges convened together to standardise the rules and ceremonies. Archery was also co-opted as a distinctively British tradition, dating back to the lore of Robin Hood and it served as a patriotic form of entertainment at a time of political tension in Europe. The societies were also elitist, and the new middle class bourgeoisie were excluded from the clubs due to their lack of social status.

After the Napoleonic Wars, the sport became increasingly popular among all classes, and it was framed as a nostalgic reimagining of the preindustrial rural Britain. Particularly influential was Sir Walter Scott's 1819 novel, Ivanhoe that depicted the heroic character Lockseley winning an archery tournament.[33]

File:Lieksa.vaakuna.svg

An archery in the coat of arms of Lieksa,[34] based on the 1669 seal of the old town of Brahea.[35]

See also[]

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  • Arash
  • Arab archery
  • Archery Association of India
  • 3D archery
  • Bow draw
  • Bowfishing
  • Bowhunting
  • Clout archery
  • Field archery
  • Gungdo
  • Kyūdō
  • Kyūjutsu
  • Modern competitive archery
  • Mounted archery
  • Run archery
  • Sagittarii
  • Target archery
  • Turkish archery
  • List of archery terms
  • List of notable archers
  • Crossbow

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References[]

  1. ↑ Paterson Encyclopaedia of Archery p. 17
  2. ↑ Template:Cite web
  3. ↑ The noun "toxophilite", meaning "a lover or devotee of archery, an archer" derives from Toxophilus by Roger Ascham —"imaginary proper name invented by Ascham, and hence title of his book (1545), intended to mean 'lover of the bow'." "toxophilite, n." Oxford English Dictionary. Second edition, 1989; online version November 2010. <http://www.oed.com:80/Entry/204131>; accessed 10 March 2011. Earlier version first published in New English Dictionary, 1913.
  4. ↑ Template:Cite journal
  5. ↑ Backwell L, d'Errico F, Wadley L.(2008). Middle Stone Age bone tools from the Howiesons Poort layers, Sibudu Cave, South Africa. Journal of Archaeological Science, 35:1566–1580. Template:Doi
  6. ↑ Template:Cite journal
  7. ↑ Template:Cite journal
  8. ↑ Template:Cite journal
  9. ↑ Backwell L, Bradfield J, Carlson KJ, Jashashvili T, Wadley L, d'Errico F.(2018). The antiquity of bow-and-arrow technology: evidence from Middle Stone Age layers at Sibudu Cave. Journal of Archaeological Science, 92:289–303. Template:Doi
  10. ↑ « La grotte du Bichon, un site préhistorique des montagnes neuchâteloises  », Archéologie neuchâteloise 42, 2009.
  11. ↑ Template:Cite journal
  12. ↑ Template:Cite journal
  13. ↑ Template:Cite journal
  14. ↑ Template:Cite journal
  15. ↑ Template:Cite web
  16. ↑ Template:Cite book
  17. ↑ Book of the Later Han [1]"句驪一名貊耳有別種依小水為居因名曰小水貊出好弓所謂貊弓是也"
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Template:Citation
  19. ↑ Template:Cite web
  20. ↑ Template:Cite web
  21. ↑ Template:Cite book
  22. ↑ Fehrenbach, Theodore Reed (1974) The Comanches: The Destruction of a People. Knopf, New York, Template:ISBN; republished in 2003 under the title The Comanches: The History of a People. New York: Anchor Books. Template:ISBN.
  23. ↑ Template:Citation
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Template:Citation
  25. ↑ Template:Citation
  26. ↑ Steven Gunn, Archery Practice in Early Tudor England, Past and Present, (2010) Vol. 209 (1): 53–81. Template:Doi
  27. ↑ Bows and arrows: deadly weapons of rural Kenya's war. Njoro, Kenya (AFP) 2 February 2008 http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Bows_and_arrows_deadly_weapons_of_rural_Kenyas_war_999.html accessed 21 July 2012
  28. ↑ Peace and Poison Arrows in Kenya. By Alexis Okeowo/Nairobi Friday, 29 February 2008. [2] accessed 21at July 2012
  29. ↑ The National Disaster in Sad Pictures! http://www.ogiek.org/election-war/election-war-4.htm Template:Webarchive accessed 21 July 2012
  30. ↑ Template:Cite web
  31. ↑ Template:Cite web
  32. ↑ Template:Cite journal
  33. ↑ Template:Cite web
  34. ↑ Template:Cite book
  35. ↑ Branea–Brahma - Projekt Runeberg Template:In lang

Further reading[]

External links[]

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