History of archery The bow and arrow are known to have been invented by the end of the Upper Paleolithic . Projectile points ( used on spear s or atlatl darts ) are known from earlier prehistory , dating to the Middle Paleolithic . Bows eventually replaced spear - thrower s as the predominant means for launching sharp projectiles on all continents except Australia . Archery was an important military and hunting skill before the widespread and efficient use of firearms , throughout classical antiquity and the medieval period . Arrows were especially destructive against unarmoured masses and the use of archers often proved decisive . Mounted archers combined range with speed and mobility . Archery is also featured prominently in the mythologies of many cultures . Stone Age . The bow seems to have been invented by the late Paleolithic or early Mesolithic . The oldest indication for archery in Europe comes from the Stellmoor in the Ahrensburg valley north of Hamburg , Germany . They were associated with artifacts of the late Paleolithic ( 11 , 000 - 9 , 000 BP ) . The arrows were made of pine and consisted of a mainshaft and a 15 - 20 centimetre ( 6 - 8 inches ) long foreshaft with a flint point . They had shallow grooves on the base , clearly indicating that they were shot from a bow . The oldest bows known so far come from the Holmegård swamp in Denmark . In the 1940s , two bows were found there , dated to about 8 , 000BP . The Holmegaard bow s are made of elm and have flat arms and a D - shaped midsection . The center section is biconvex . The complete bow is ( 5 ft ) long . Bows of Holmegaard - type were in use until the Bronze Age ; the convexity of the midsection has decreased with time . Mesolithic pointed shafts have been found in England , Germany , Denmark , and Sweden . They were often rather long , up to ( 4 ft ) and made of European hazel ( " Corylus avellana " ) , wayfaring tree ( " Viburnum lantana " ) and other small woody shoots . Some still have flint arrow - heads preserved ; others have blunt wooden ends for hunting birds and small game . The ends show traces of fletching , which was fastened on with birch - tar . The oldest Neolithic bows in Europe have been found in anaerobic layers dating between 7 , 400 - 7 , 200BP , the earliest layer of settlement at the lake settlement at La Draga , Banyoles , Catalonia . The intact specimen is short at 1 . 08m , has a D - shaped cross - section , and is made of yew wood . Bows and arrows have been present in Egypt ian culture since its predynastic origins . The " Nine Bows " symbolize the various peoples that had been ruled over by the pharaoh since Egypt was united . In the Levant , artifacts which may be arrow - shaft straighteners are known from the Natufian culture , ( ca . 12 , 800 - 10 , 300 BP ) onwards . The Khiamian and PPN A shouldered Khiam - points may well be arrowheads . Stone points which may have been arrowhead s were made in Africa by about 64 , 000 years ago . North America . Archery seems to have arrived in the Americas with the Arctic small tool tradition , about 2 , 500 BC , spreading south into the temperate zones as early as 2 , 000 BC , and was widely known among the indigenous peoples of North America from about 500 AD . An archery game was widely practiced among the tribes of the Southern US 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 . Tribesmen of the Great Plains became extremely adept at archery on horseback . Bronze Age . The ancient Egyptian people took to archery as early as 5 , 000 years ago . Archery was widespread by the time of the earliest pharaohs and was practiced both for hunting and use in warfare . Legendary figures from the tombs of Thebes are depicted giving " lessons in archery " . Some Egyptian deities are also connected to archery . Iron Age . 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 . Xenophon describes long bow s used to great effect in Corduene . 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 . The bow and arrow constituted the classical Indian weapon of warfare , from the Vedic period , until the advent of Islam . Some Rigvedic hymns lay emphasis on the use of the bow and arrow . Ancient history . Classical civilizations , notably the Persians , Parthians , Indians , Koreans , Chinese , and Japanese fielded large numbers of archers in their armies . Arrows were destructive against massed formations , and the use of archers often proved decisive . The Sanskrit term for archery , dhanurveda , came to refer to martial arts in general . Mounted archer s were the main military force of most of the equestrian nomads from the Cimmerians to the Mongols . Greco - Roman antiquity . The people of Crete practiced archery and Cretan mercenary archers were in great demand . Crete was known for its unbroken tradition of archery . The Greek ] ] god Apollo is the god of archery , also of plague and the sun , metaphorically perceived as shooting invisible arrows , Artemis the goddess of wild places and hunting . Herakles and Odysseus and other mythological figures are often depicted with a bow . [ [ File : Apollo Artemis Brygos Louvre G151 . jpg | thumb | left | 200px | Apollo and Artemis . Tondo of an Attic red - figure cup , ca . 470 BC . During the [ [ Alexander the Great # Invasion of India | 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 [ [ Kamboj ] ] a clans — the [ [ Aspasios ] ] of [ [ Kunar Valley | Kunar ] ] [ [ valley ] ] s , the Guraeans of the Guraeus ( [ [ Panjkora ] ] ) valley , and the Assakenois of the [ [ Swat ( Pakistan ) | Swat ] ] and [ [ Buner ] ] valleys . The early Romans had very few archers , if any . As their empire grew , they recruited auxiliary archers from other nations . [ [ Julius Caesar ] ] ' s armies in Gaul included Cretan archers , and [ [ Vercingetorix ] ] his enemy ordered " all the archers , of whom there was a very great number in Gaul , to be collected " . By the 4th century , 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 [ [ mounted archery | mounted archers ] ] belonging to the [ [ Hun ] ] invaders , and later Eastern Roman armies relied heavily on mounted archery . East Asia . For millennia , archery has played a pivotal role in Chinese history . In particular , archery featured prominently in ancient Chinese culture and philosophy : archery was one of the Six Noble Arts of the Zhou dynasty ( 1146 – 256 BCE ) ; archery skill was a virtue for Chinese emperors ; [ [ Confucius ] ] himself was an archery teacher ; and [ [ Lie Yukou | Lie Zi ] ] ( a Daoist philosopher ) was an avid archer . Because the cultures associated with Chinese society spanned a wide geography and time range , the techniques and equipment associated with Chinese archery are diverse . In East Asia the [ [ Joseon | Joseon Korea ] ] adopted a military - service examination system from China , and South Korea remains a particularly strong performer at Olympic archery competitions even to this day . South Asia . 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 depicted as masters in the art of archery . Mythological figures such as [ [ Arjuna ] ] , [ [ Eklavya ] ] , [ [ Karna ] ] , [ [ Rama ] ] , [ [ Lakshmana ] ] , [ [ Bharata ( Ramayana ) | Bharata ] ] and [ [ Shatrughan ] ] are also associated with archery . Decline , last uses , and survival of archery . [ [ File : English Archery - three panels . jpg | thumb | 250px | | Panels depicting Archery in England from [ [ Joseph Strutt ( engraver and antiquary ) | Joseph Strutt ] ] ' s 1801 book , " The sports and pastimes of the people of England from the earliest period " . The date of the top image is unknown ; the middle image is from 1496 and the bottom panel is circa fourteenth century . ] ] The advent of [ [ Gunpowder warfare | firearms ] ] eventually rendered bows obsolete in warfare . Despite the high social status , ongoing utility , and widespread pleasure of archery in England , Korea , China , Japan , Turkey , Armenia , America , Egypt , and elsewhere , almost every culture that gained access to even early firearms used them widely , to the relative neglect of archery . Early firearms were vastly inferior in rate - of - fire , and were very susceptible to wet weather . However , they had longer effective range 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 armour 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 . In Europe the last regular unit armed with bows was also a part of the oldest regular unit armed with gunpowder weapons , the Archers ’ Company of the [ [ Honourable Artillery Company ] ] . In Eastern Europe and the Asian Steppe however archery continued to play an important part in warfare , although now restricted to mounted archery . The Ottoman Empire still fielded auxiliary cavalry which was noted for its use of bows from horseback . This practice was continued by the Ottoman subject nations , despite the Empire itself being a proponent of early firearms . The practice declined after the Crimean Khanate was finally absorbed by Russia ; however mounted archers remained in the Ottoman order of battle until the post 1826 reforms to the Ottoman Army . The sole exceptions may be the Comanches of North America , whose [ [ mounted archery ] ] was more effective than muzzle - loading guns . ( Other Plains Indians fought mostly on foot , and usually found guns to be superior weapons when they did so . ) " After . . . about 1800 , most Comanches began to discard muskets and pistols and to rely on their older weapons . " Repeating firearms , however , were superior in turn , and the Comanches adopted them when they could . Bows remained effective hunting weapons for skilled horse archers , used to some extent by all Native Americans on the Great Plains to hunt buffalo as long as there were buffalo to hunt . The last Comanche hunt was in 1878 , and it failed for lack of buffalo , not lack of appropriate weapons . The last recorded use of bows in battle in Britain seems to have been a skirmish at [ [ Bridgnorth ] ] ; in October 1642 , during the [ [ English Civil War ] ] , an impromptu militia was effective against un - armoured musketmen . The most recent death in war from British archery was probably in 1940 , on the retreat to Dunkirk , when [ [ Jack Churchill ] ] who had brought his bows on active service " was delighted to see his arrow strike the centre German in the left of the chest and penetrate his body " . In Ireland , [ [ Geoffrey Keating ] ] ( c . 1569 - c . 1644 ) mentions archery as having been practiced " down to a recent period within our own memory " Archery continued in some areas that were subject to limitations on the ownership of arms , such as the Scottish Highlands during the repression that followed the decline of the Jacobite cause , and the Cherokees after the Trail of Tears . The [ [ Tokugawa shogunate ] ] severely limited the import and manufacture of guns , and encouraged traditional martial skills among the samurai ; towards the end of the [ [ Satsuma Rebellion ] ] in 1877 , some rebels fell back on the use of bows and arrows . Archery remained an important part of the military examinations until 1894 in [ [ Korean bow | Korea ] ] and 1904 in China . Ongoing use of bows and arrows in some African conflicts has been reported in the 21st century , and the [ [ Sentinelese people | Sentinelese ] ] still use bows as part of a lifestyle scarcely touched by outside contact . A remote group in Brazil , recently photographed from the air , aimed bows at the aeroplane . Bows and arrows saw considerable use in the [ [ 2007 – 2008 Kenyan crisis ] ] . Traditional archery remained in minority use for sport and for hunting in many areas long after its military disuse . In Turkey , its last revival for this purpose took place with the encouragement of [ [ Mahmud II ] ] in the 1820s , but the art , and that of constructing composite bows , fell out of use with the death of the last bowyer in the 1930s . The rest of the Middle East also lost the continuity of its archery tradition at this time . In Korea , the transformation from military training to healthy pastime was led by [ [ Gojong of the Korean Empire | Emperor Gojong ] ] , and is the basis of a popular modern sport . Japanese continue to make and use their unique [ [ yumi | traditional equipment ] ] . Among the Cherokees , popular use of their traditional longbows never died out . The British have also maintained a continuous tradition of longbow use , with a major revival as an upper - class pursuit from about 1780 - 1840 . In China , the improvement of firearms and other circumstances of 20th century China led to the demise of archery as a military and ritual practice , and for much of the 20th century only one traditional bow and arrow workshop remained . However , in the beginning of the 21st century , there has been revival in interest among craftsmen looking to construct bows and arrows , as well as in practicing technique in the traditional Chinese style . In modern times , mounted archery continues to be practiced in some Asian countries but is not used in international competition . Modern Hungarians have revived mounted archery as a competitive sport . Archery is the national sport of the [ [ Kingdom of Bhutan ] ] . Modern archery revival . After the American Civil War , two Confederate veterans , Will and [ [ Maurice Thompson ] ] , revived archery in America . The two brothers and Thomas Williams ( a former slave ) lived in the wild in the [ [ Okefenokee Swamp ] ] in Georgia . As ex - [ [ Confederate States Army | Confederate ] ] soldiers they were not allowed to own guns , so they needed other ways to hunt for food . Thomas Williams knew something about English - style Archery ( using a longbow , though it is unclear where he gained this knowledge ) and showed Maurice and Will . Later , Maurice wrote a book , " [ [ The Witchery of Archery ] ] " , which became a best seller and enthused people about the sport of archery . In 1879 the [ [ National Archery Association ] ] was formed . However , public interest in archery soon subsided . That all changed when [ [ Ishi ] ] came out of hiding in California in 1911 . Ishi was the last of the Yahi Indian tribe . He lived for his last five years at the University of California at Berkeley Anthropology Museum . His doctor , Saxton Pope , was an instructor of surgery at the medical school . Dr . Pope was very interested in Ishi and his culture , especially archery . Ishi willingly taught Dr . Pope about his culture , how to make tools the way the Yahi did , and how to hunt using a bow and arrow . Soon , Dr . Pope was joined by archery - enthusiast Arthur Young . Ishi died in 1916 of tuberculosis . Dr . Pope and Mr . Young did not lose interest in archery , and set about proving that archery could be used to bag large game . They hunted in Alaska and Africa and took several large game animals . Because Dr . Pope and Mr . Young demonstrated to Western society that archery was effective on not only small game , but large game as well , archery did not lose public interest so easily . Many methods that Ishi taught Dr . Pope are still used today . From the 1920s , professional engineers took an interest in archery , previously the exclusive field of traditional craft experts . They led the commercial development of new forms of bow including the modern [ [ recurve bow | recurve ] ] and [ [ compound bow ] ] . These modern forms are now dominant in modern Western archery ; traditional bows are in a minority . In the 1980s , the skills of traditional archery were revived by American enthusiasts , and combined with the new scientific understanding . Much of this expertise is available in the " Traditional Bowyer ' s Bibles " ( see Further Reading ) . References . 48 . ^ http : / / www . uiowa . edu / ~ osa / learn / ancient / archery . htm External links . [ [ Category : History of archery ] ] [ [ Category : History of sports | Archery ] ] [ [ Category : Archery ] ] [ [ Category : Warfare of the Ancient era ] ] [ [ Category : Warfare of the Middle Ages ] ] [ [ Category : Weapon history ] ]