Ancient Archery

by Rob Daniels

Little is known of primitive archery. Some authorities date the origin of archery as early as the Aurignacian period, about 25,000 years before the modern era. it is believed that archery has been in existence for over 100,000 years. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, archery's importance as a cultural advance ranks with the development of speed and the art of making fire. Together with fire, the wheel, and speech, archery is considered one of mankind's most important initial developments.

It is important to remember that archery revolutionized the battles fought long ago often being a key factor in the winning strategies. Chinese nobles attended special schools, where they were taught archery, music, rituals, charioteering, mathematics and writing, between 1200 and 700 BC. Chinese civil archery introduced to Japan from the 6th century had an overriding influence on later etiquette and techniques.

From that time on, archery has played an important role in many of the world's civilizations. Sports and games of war like archery, jousting, and hunting took an importance place in the society and were an important measurement of skill.

However, with the invention of the musket, archery was no longer the main weapon of warfare. After the bow's replacement by firearms as a weapon of war, archery became a favored sport, thus securing its continuous practice throughout history.

No one knows for certain when archery came to England or who brought to the United Kingdom. Throughout history English archers were always paid more than regular infantry. Henry I even passed a law that absolved any archer if he killed a man while practicing archery. Henry VIII started a number of archery groups for sport. The British made many improvements to archery, most notorious of which was the invention of the longbow which was so effective that it could easily pierce through a armor. During the latter half of the 1600's, contests of archery skill came into vogue in England.

Competition among military archers is certainly the early beginnings of archery as a sport. Their ancient skills and traditions are kept alive today by the many clubs practicing archery as a sport in one of its many forms. These recreational activities with the bow evolved into the modern sport of archery.

With the improvement of technology in the 1900's, came the advance in technology for archery as well. By 1972, the great popularity of this sport brought target archery back into the Olympic program. Modern-day archery competition was first introduced in 1972, and later in Seoul in 1988, and included tournaments for men and women. In 1985, to improve archery as a spectator sport, a new championship round known as the grand FITA round, with single-elimination matches, was adopted. Throughout the 20th century, increasing knowledge of physics has led to many continuing advances in archery.

About the Author
Rob Daniels writes educational material for http://www.archery-target.com and http://www.kayak-escape.com two of his favorite lifelong sports.