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96-522: Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows . The word comes from the Latin arcus , meaning bow. 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 . The oldest known evidence of the bow and arrow comes from South African sites such as Sibudu Cave , where

192-512: A shaft , with an arrowhead at the front end, and fletchings and a nock at the other end. Arrows across time and history have normally been carried in a container known as a quiver , which can take many different forms. Shafts of arrows are typically composed of solid wood , bamboo , fiberglass , aluminium alloy , carbon fiber , or composite materials . Wooden arrows are prone to warping. Fiberglass arrows are brittle, but can be produced to uniform specifications easily. Aluminium shafts were

288-432: A bowstring exist, such as the 'endless loop' and 'Flemish twist'. Almost any fiber can be made into a bowstring. The author of Arab Archery suggests the hide of a young, emaciated camel. Njál's saga describes the refusal of a wife, Hallgerður, to cut her hair to make an emergency bowstring for her husband, Gunnar Hámundarson , who is then killed. Most modern archers wear a bracer (also known as an arm-guard) to protect

384-580: A main shaft and a 15–20 cm (5.9–7.9 in) 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

480-602: A mass weapon rather than an individual one. Significant victories attributable to the longbow, such as the Battle of Crecy and Battle of Agincourt resulted in the English longbow becoming part of military lore. Tribesmen of Central Asia (after the domestication of the horse ) and American Plains Indians (after gaining access to horses by Europeans) became extremely adept at archery on horseback . Lightly armoured, but highly mobile archers were excellently suited to warfare in

576-518: A mechanical system of pulley cams over which the bowstring is wound. Nylon is useful only in emergency situations, as it stretches too much. There is no single accepted system of classification of bows. Bows may be described by various characteristics including the materials used, the length of the draw that they permit, the shape of the bow in sideways view, and the shape of the limb in cross-section. Commonly-used descriptors for bows include: Welsh longbow The Welsh bow or Welsh longbow

672-409: A mechanism to pull the string. Directly drawn bows may be further divided based upon differences in the method of limb construction, notable examples being self bows , laminated bows and composite bows . Bows can also be classified by the bow shape of the limbs when unstrung; in contrast to traditional European straight bows, a recurve bow and some types of longbow have tips that curve away from

768-417: A modern bow are a pair of curved elastic limbs , traditionally made from wood , joined by a riser. However self bows such as the English longbow are made of a single piece of wood comprising both limbs and the grip. The ends of each limb are connected by a string known as the bow string . By pulling the string backwards the archer exerts compression force on the string-facing section, or belly , of

864-414: A nocking point marked on them, which serves to mark where the arrow is fitted to the bowstring before shooting. The area around the nocking point is usually bound with thread to protect the area around the nocking point from wear by the archer's hands. This section is called the serving. At one end of the bowstring a loop is formed, which is permanent. The other end of the bowstring also has a loop, but this

960-469: A nonprofit scientific organization, the Club was patterned after the prestigious Boone and Crockett Club and advocated responsible bowhunting by promoting quality, fair chase hunting, and sound conservation practices. 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

1056-413: A pre-determined tension. Stabilizers are mounted at various points on the bow. Common with competitive archery equipment are special brackets that allow multiple stabilizers to be mounted at various angles to fine tune the bow's balance. Stabilizers aid in aiming by improving the balance of the bow. Sights, quivers, rests, and design of the riser (the central, non-bending part of the bow) make one side of

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1152-575: A similar motif is present in the Turkic Iranian heroic archeheroic poem Alpamysh . The Nymphai Hyperboreioi ( Νύμφαι Ὑπερβόρειοι ) were worshipped on the Greek island of Delos as attendants of Artemis , presiding over aspects of archery; Hekaerge ( Ἑκαέργη ), represented distancing, Loxo ( Λοξώ ), trajectory, and Oupis ( Οὖπις ), aim. Yi the archer and his apprentice Feng Meng appear in several early Chinese myths, and

1248-433: A special glove is used that has a ridge to assist in drawing the string. A release aid is a mechanical device designed to give a crisp and precise loose of arrows from a compound bow. In the most commonly used, the string is released by a finger-operated trigger mechanism, held in the archer's hand or attached to their wrist. In another type, known as a back-tension release, the string is automatically released when drawn to

1344-535: A stiff end on the limb end, having the effect of a recurve. In this type of bow, this is known by the Arabic name 'siyah'. Modern construction materials for bows include laminated wood, fiberglass , metals , and carbon fiber components. An arrow usually consists of a shaft with an arrowhead attached to the front end, with fletchings and a nock at the other. Modern arrows are usually made from carbon fibre, aluminum, fiberglass, and wood shafts. Carbon shafts have

1440-477: A stock or other mounting, such as the crossbow . Crossbows typically have shorter draw lengths compared to compound bows. Because of this, heavier draw weights are required to achieve the same energy transfer to the arrow. These mechanically drawn bows also have devices to hold the tension when the bow is fully drawn. They are not limited by the strength of a single archer and larger varieties have been used as siege engines . The most common form of arrow consists of

1536-553: 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

1632-422: A very popular high-performance choice in the latter half of the 20th century, due to their straightness, lighter weight, and subsequently higher speed and flatter trajectories. Carbon fiber arrows became popular in the 1990s because they are very light, flying even faster and flatter than aluminium arrows. Today, the most popular arrows at tournaments and Olympic events are made of composite materials. The arrowhead

1728-751: A weapon of tribal warfare in some parts of Sub-Saharan Africa ; an example was documented in 2009 in Kenya when Kisii people and Kalenjin people clashed, resulting in four deaths. The British upper class led a revival of archery as a sport in the late 18th century. Sir Ashton Lever , an antiquarian and collector, formed the Toxophilite Society in London in 1781, under the patronage of George IV , then Prince of Wales . Bows and arrows have been rarely used by modern special forces for survival and clandestine operations. The basic elements of

1824-479: Is four-fletched , two opposing fletches are often cock feathers, and occasionally the fletches are not evenly spaced. The fletching may be either parabolic cut (short feathers in a smooth parabolic curve) or shield cut (generally shaped like half of a narrow shield), and is often attached at an angle, known as helical fletching, to introduce a stabilizing spin to the arrow while in flight. Whether helical or straight fletched, when natural fletching (bird feathers)

1920-453: Is a technique eschewing sights and is often preferred by traditional archers (shooters of longbows and recurves). In either the split finger or three finger under case, the string is usually placed in the first or second joint, or else on the pads of the fingers. When using a mechanical release aid, the release is hooked onto the D-loop. Another type of string hold, used on traditional bows, is

2016-401: Is able to project heavier arrows at the same velocity or the same arrow at a greater velocity. The various parts of the bow can be subdivided into further sections. The topmost limb is known as the upper limb, while the bottom limb is the lower limb. At the tip of each limb is a nock, which is used to attach the bowstring to the limbs. The riser is usually divided into the grip, which is held by

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2112-405: Is attributed by archaeological association. The bow was an important weapon for both hunting and warfare from prehistoric times until the widespread use of gunpowder weapons in the 16th century. It was also common in ancient warfare , although certain cultures would not favor them. Greek poet Archilocus expressed scorn for fighting with bows and slings . The skill of Nubian archers

2208-474: Is called stringing the bow. The oldest known evidence of the bow and arrow comes from South African sites such as Sibudu Cave , where likely arrowheads have been found, dating from approximately 72,000–60,000 years ago. The earliest probable arrowheads found outside of Africa were discovered in 2020 in Fa Hien Cave , Sri Lanka . They have been dated to 48,000 years ago. "Bow-and-arrow hunting at

2304-420: Is called a quiver . When not in use, bows are generally kept unstrung , meaning one or both ends of the bowstring are detached from the bow. This removes all residual tension on the bow and can help prevent it from losing strength or elasticity over time. Many bow designs also let it straighten out more completely, reducing the space needed to store the bow. Returning the bowstring to its ready-to-use position

2400-419: Is known as a bowyer , someone who makes arrows is a fletcher , and someone who manufactures metal arrowheads is an arrowsmith. A bow consists of a semi- rigid but elastic arc with a high-tensile bowstring joining the ends of the two limbs of the bow. An arrow is a projectile with a pointed tip and a long shaft with stabilizer fins ( fletching ) towards the back, with a narrow notch ( nock ) at

2496-742: Is not permanently formed into the bowstring but is constructed by tying a knot into the string to form a loop. Traditionally this knot is known as the archer's knot, but is a form of the timber hitch . The knot can be adjusted to lengthen or shorten the bowstring. The adjustable loop is known as the "tail". The string is often twisted (this being called the "flemish twist"). Bowstrings have been constructed of many materials throughout history, including fibres such as flax , silk , and hemp . Other materials used were animal guts , animal sinews , and rawhide . Modern fibres such as Dacron or Kevlar are now used in commercial bowstring construction, as well as steel wires in some compound bows. Compound bows have

2592-476: Is the Penobscot bow or Wabenaki bow, invented by Frank Loring (Chief Big Thunder) about 1900. It consists of a small bow attached by cables on the back of a larger main bow. In different cultures, the arrows are released from either the left or right side of the bow, and this affects the hand grip and position of the bow. In Arab archery , Turkish archery , and Japanese archery . The arrows are released from

2688-512: Is the primary functional component of the arrow. Some arrows may simply use a sharpened tip of the solid shaft, but separate arrowheads are far more common, usually made from metal, stone, or other hard materials. The most commonly used forms are target points, field points, and broadheads, although there are also other types, such as bodkin, judo, and blunt heads. Fletching is traditionally made from bird feathers, but solid plastic vanes and thin sheet-like spin vanes are used. They are attached near

2784-430: Is the same diameter as the arrow shaft and is usually just fitted over the tip of the arrow. Other heads are known, including the blunt head, which is flat at the end and is used for hunting small game or birds, and is designed to not pierce the target nor embed itself in trees or other objects and make recovery difficult. Another type of arrowhead is a barbed head, usually used in warfare or hunting. Bowstrings may have

2880-425: Is thickest right behind the head, and tapers to the nock. A barrelled arrow is thickest in the centre of the arrow. Target arrows are those arrows used for target shooting rather than warfare or hunting, and usually have simple arrowheads. For safety reasons, a bow should never be shot without an arrow nocked; without an arrow, the energy that is normally transferred into the projectile is instead directed back into

2976-512: Is used it is critical that all feathers come from the same side of the bird. Oversized fletchings can be used to accentuate drag and thus limit the range of the arrow significantly; these arrows are called flu-flus . Misplacement of fletchings can change the arrow's flight path dramatically. Dacron and other modern materials offer high strength for their weight and are used on most modern bows. Linen and other traditional materials are still used on traditional bows. Several modern methods of making

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3072-488: The Amazons was that they had one breast removed to solve this problem. Roger Ascham mentions one archer, presumably with an unusual shooting style, who wore a leather guard for his face. The drawing digits are normally protected by a leather tab , glove, or thumb ring . A simple tab of leather is commonly used, as is a skeleton glove. Medieval Europeans probably used a complete leather glove. Eurasiatic archers who used

3168-816: The Kongsberg attack . Deities and heroes in several mythologies are described as archers, including the Greek Artemis and Apollo , the Roman Diana and Cupid , the Germanic Agilaz , continuing in legends like those of Wilhelm Tell , Palnetoke , or Robin Hood . Armenian Hayk and Babylonian Marduk , Indian Karna (also known as Radheya/son of Radha), Abhimanyu , Eklavya , Arjuna , Bhishma , Drona , Rama , and Shiva were known for their shooting skills. The famous archery competition of hitting

3264-597: 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

3360-604: The bow and arrow 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. 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,

3456-435: The drawing hand or string hand . Terms such as bow shoulder or string elbow follow the same convention. If shooting according to eye dominance, right-eye-dominant archers shooting conventionally hold the bow with their left hand. If shooting according to hand dexterity, the archer draws the string with the hand that possesses the greatest dexterity, regardless of eye dominance. To shoot an arrow, an archer first assumes

3552-698: The 15th century BC. The Welsh longbow proved its worth for the first time in Continental warfare at the Battle of Crécy . In the Americas archery was widespread at European contact. 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. The medieval shortbow

3648-668: 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 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

3744-590: 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. 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

3840-558: The Grand National 11 times in a row and published a highly influential guide to the sport in 1856. Towards the end of the 19th century, the sport experienced declining participation as alternative sports such as croquet and tennis became more popular among the middle class. By 1889, just 50 archery clubs were left in Britain, but it was still included as a sport at the 1900 Paris Olympics . The National Archery Association of

3936-674: The Sri Lankan site likely focused on monkeys and smaller animals, such as squirrels, Langley says. Remains of these creatures were found in the same sediment as the bone points." Small stone points from the Grotte Mandrin in Southern France, used some 54,000 years ago, have damage from use that indicates their use as projectile weapons, and some are too small (less than 10mm across as the base) for any practical use other than as arrowheads. They are associated with possibly

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4032-516: 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

4128-471: The United States was organized in 1879, in part by Maurice Thompson (the author of the seminal text “ The Witchery of Archery ”) and his brother Will Thompson . Maurice was president in its inaugural year and Will was president in 1882, 1903, and 1904. The 1910 President was Frank E Canfield. Today it is known as USA Archery and is recognized by United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee . In

4224-591: The United States, primitive archery was revived in the early 20th century. The last of the Yahi Indian tribe, a native known as Ishi , came out of hiding in California in 1911. His doctor, Saxton Pope , learned many of Ishi's traditional archery skills, and popularized them. The Pope and Young Club , founded in 1961 and named in honor of Pope and his friend, Arthur Young, became one of North America's leading bowhunting and conservation organizations. Founded as

4320-465: The advantage that they do not bend or warp, but they can often be too light weight to shoot from some bows and are expensive. Aluminum shafts are less expensive than carbon shafts, but they can bend and warp from use. Wood shafts are the least expensive option but often will not be identical in weight and size to each other and break more often than the other types of shafts. Arrow sizes vary greatly across cultures and range from very short ones that require

4416-503: The archer when the bow is unstrung. The cross-section of the limb also varies; the classic longbow is a tall bow with narrow limbs that are D-shaped in cross section, and the flatbow has flat wide limbs that are approximately rectangular in cross-section. Cable-backed bows use cords as the back of the bow; the draw weight of the bow can be adjusted by changing the tension of the cable. They were widespread among Inuit who lacked easy access to good bow wood. One variety of cable-backed bow

4512-416: The archer, as well as the arrow rest and the bow window. The arrow rest is a small ledge or extension above the grip which the arrow rests upon while being aimed. The bow window is that part of the riser above the grip, which contains the arrow rest. In bows drawn and held by hand, the maximum draw weight is determined by the strength of the archer. The maximum distance the string could be displaced and thus

4608-431: The arrow). This step is called "nocking the arrow". Typical arrows with three vanes should be oriented such that a single vane, the "cock feather", is pointing away from the bow, to improve the clearance of the arrow as it passes the arrow rest. A compound bow is fitted with a special type of arrow rest, known as a launcher, and the arrow is usually loaded with the cock feather/vane pointed either up, or down, depending upon

4704-416: The base of an abbey tower to dislodge a wood pigeon placed approximately 30 m (98 ft) above.) The Royal Company of Archers was formed in 1676 and is one of the oldest sporting bodies in the world. 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

4800-567: The battlefield. However, the bow and arrow is still an effective weapon, and archers have seen military action in the 21st century. Traditional archery remains in use for sport, and for hunting in many areas. 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

4896-449: The bow and draws the string, with varying alignments for vertical versus slightly canted bow positions. This is often one fluid motion for shooters of recurves and longbows, which tend to vary from archer to archer. Compound shooters often experience a slight jerk during the drawback, at around the last 4 cm (1.6 in), where the draw weight is at its maximum—before relaxing into a comfortable stable full draw position. The archer draws

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4992-494: The bow heavier. One purpose of stabilizers are to offset these forces. A reflex riser design will cause the top limb to lean towards the shooter. In this case a heavier front stabilizer is desired to offset this action. A deflex riser design has the opposite effect and a lighter front stabilizer may be used. Stabilizers can reduce noise and vibration. These energies are absorbed by viscoelastic polymers, gels, powders, and other materials used to build stabilizers. Stabilizers improve

5088-403: The bow in the left hand.) Therefore, if one is right-eye dominant, they would hold the bow in the left hand and draw the string with the right hand. However, not everyone agrees with this line of thought. A smoother, and more fluid release of the string will produce the most consistently repeatable shots, and therefore may provide greater accuracy of the arrow flight. Some believe that the hand with

5184-491: The bow itself, which will cause damage to the bow's limbs. The end of the arrow that is designed to hit the target is called the arrowhead. Usually, these are separate items that are attached to the arrow shaft by either tangs or sockets. Materials used in the past for arrowheads include flint, bone, horn, or metal. Most modern arrowheads are made of steel, but wood and other traditional materials are still used occasionally. A number of different types of arrowheads are known, with

5280-416: The correct stance. The body should be at or nearly perpendicular to the target and the shooting line, with the feet placed shoulder-width apart. As an archer progresses from beginner to a more advanced level other stances such as the "open stance" or the "closed stance" may be used, although many choose to stick with a "neutral stance". Each archer has a particular preference, but mostly this term indicates that

5376-658: The days of English and later American colonization. Organised warfare with bows ended in the early to mid-17th century in Western Europe , but it persisted into the 19th century in Eastern cultures, including hunting and warfare in the New World . In the Canadian Arctic , bows were made until the end of the 20th century for hunting caribou , for instance at Igloolik . The bow has more recently been used as

5472-542: The early Crusades , with models having a range of 274 m (899 ft) and being able to penetrate armour or kill a horse. 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. Like their predecessors archers were more likely to be peasants or yeomen than men-at-arms. The longbow had a range of up to 270 m (890 ft). However its lack of accuracy at long ranges made it

5568-594: The elm Holmegaard bows from Denmark , which were dated to 9,000 BCE. Several bows from Holmegaard, Denmark, date 8,000 years ago. High-performance wooden bows are currently made following the Holmegaard design. The Stellmoor bow fragments from northern Germany were dated to about 8,000 BCE, but they were destroyed in Hamburg during the Second World War , before carbon 14 dating was available; their age

5664-559: The ends of the limbs to achieve this. A typical let-off is anywhere from 65% to 80%. For example, a 27 kg (60 lb) bow with 80% let-off only requires 53 N (12 lb f ) to hold at full draw. Up to 99% let-off is possible. The compound bow was invented by Holless Wilbur Allen in the 1960s (a US patent was filed in 1966 and granted in 1969) and it has become the most widely used type of bow for all forms of archery in North America. Mechanically drawn bows typically have

5760-673: 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". For example, Xiong-nu mounted bowmen made them more than a match for the Han military, and their threat

5856-630: The eye of a rotating fish while watching its reflection in the water bowl was one of the many archery skills depicted in the Mahabharata . Persian Arash was a famous archer. Earlier Greek representations of Heracles normally depict him as an archer. Archery, and the bow, play an important part in the epic poem the Odyssey, when Odysseus returns home in disguise and then bests the suitors in an archery competition after hinting at his identity by stringing and drawing his great bow that only he can draw,

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5952-561: The first groups of modern humans to leave Africa. After the end of the last glacial period , some 12,000 years ago, the use of the bow seems to have spread to every inhabited region, except for Australasia and most of Oceania. The earliest definite remains of bow and arrow from Europe are possible fragments from Germany found at Mannheim-Vogelstang dated 17,500–18,000 years ago, and at Stellmoor dated 11,000 years ago. Azilian points found in Grotte du Bichon , Switzerland , alongside

6048-494: The first to use composite bows in war according to the victory stele of Naram-Sin of Akkad . 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. The Bronze Age Aegean Cultures were able to deploy a number of state-owned specialized bow makers for warfare and hunting purposes already from

6144-434: The forgiveness and accuracy by increasing the moment of inertia of the bow to resist movement during the shooting process. Lightweight carbon stabilizers with weighted ends are desirable because they improve the moment of inertia while minimizing the weight added. The standard convention on teaching archery is to hold the bow depending upon eye dominance. (One exception is in modern kyūdō where all archers are trained to hold

6240-452: The function of a pair of cantilever springs to store elastic energy . Typically while maintaining the draw, the archer aims the shot intuitively or by sighting along the arrow. Then the archer releases (looses) the draw, allowing the limbs' stored energy to convert into kinetic energy transmitted via the bowstring to the arrow, propelling it to fly forward with high velocity. A container or bag for additional arrows for quick reloading

6336-421: 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. It

6432-406: The greatest dexterity should therefore be the hand that draws and releases the string. Either eye can be used for aiming, and the less dominant eye can be trained over time to become more effective for use. To assist with this, an eye patch can be temporarily worn over the dominant eye. The hand that holds the bow is referred to as the bow hand and its arm the bow arm . The opposite hand is called

6528-460: The ground, though archers with hyper extendable elbows tend to angle the inner elbow toward the ground, as exemplified by the Korean archer Jang Yong-Ho . This keeps the forearm out of the way of the bowstring. Bow and arrow Archery is the art, practice, or skill of using bows to shoot arrows. A person who shoots arrows with a bow is called a bowman or an archer. Someone who makes bows

6624-629: The heroic character Lockseley winning an archery tournament. The 1840s saw the second attempts at turning the recreation into a modern sport. The first Grand National Archery Society meeting was held in York in 1844 and over the next decade the extravagant and festive practices of the past were gradually whittled away and the rules were standardized as the 'York Round' - a series of shoots at 55 m (180 ft), 73 m (240 ft), and 91 m (299 ft). Horace A. Ford helped to improve archery standards and pioneered new archery techniques. He won

6720-539: The historical character of Zhou Tong features in many fictional forms. Jumong , the first Taewang of the Goguryeo kingdom of the Three Kingdoms of Korea , is claimed by legend to have been a near-godlike archer. Archery features in the story of Oguz Khagan. Similarly, archery and the bow feature heavily into historical Korean identity. In West African Yoruba belief, Osoosi is one of several deities of

6816-433: The hunt who are identified with bow and arrow iconography and other insignia associated with archery. While there is great variety in the construction details of bows (both historical and modern), all bows consist of a string attached to elastic limbs that store mechanical energy imparted by the user drawing the string. Bows may be broadly split into two categories: those drawn by pulling the string directly and those that use

6912-445: The inside of the bow arm from being hit by the string and prevent clothing from catching the bowstring. The bracer does not brace the arm; the word comes from the armoury term " brassard ", meaning an armoured sleeve or badge. The Navajo people have developed highly ornamented bracers as non-functional items of adornment. Some archers (nearly all female archers) wear protection on their chests, called chestguards or plastrons. The myth of

7008-411: The leg furthest from the shooting line is a half to a whole foot-length from the other foot, on the ground. To load, the bow is pointed toward the ground, tipped slightly clockwise of vertical (for a right handed shooter) and the shaft of the arrow is placed on the arrow rest or shelf. The back of the arrow is attached to the bowstring with the nock (a small locking groove located at the proximal end of

7104-404: The limbs as well as placing the outer section, or back , under tension . While the string is held, this stores the energy later released in putting the arrow to flight. The force required to hold the string stationary at full draw is often used to express the power of a bow, and is known as its draw weight, or weight. Other things being equal, a higher draw weight means a more powerful bow, which

7200-491: The longest arrow that could be loosed from it, a bow's draw length, is determined by the size of the archer. A composite bow uses a combination of materials to create the limbs, allowing the use of materials specialized for the different functions of a bow limb. The classic composite bow uses wood for lightness and dimensional stability in the core, horn to store compression energy, and sinew for its ability to store energy in tension. Such bows, typically Asian, would often use

7296-778: The modern recurve and compound bow . These modern forms are now dominant in modern Western archery; traditional bows are in a minority. Archery returned to the Olympics in 1972. 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). Modern game archery owes much of its success to Fred Bear , an American bow hunter and bow manufacturer. In 2021, five people were killed and three injured by an archer in Norway in

7392-453: The modern spin vanes. This fletch is called the "index fletch" or "cock feather" (also known as "the odd vane out" or "the nocking vane"), and the others are sometimes called the "hen feathers". Commonly, the cock feather is of a different color. However, if archers are using fletching made of feather or similar material, they may use same color vanes, as different dyes can give varying stiffness to vanes, resulting in less precision. When an arrow

7488-426: The most common being bodkins , broadheads, and piles. Bodkin heads are simple spikes made of metal of various shapes, designed to pierce armour. A broadhead arrowhead is usually triangular or leaf-shaped and has a sharpened edge or edges. Broadheads are commonly used for hunting. A pile arrowhead is a simple metal cone, either sharpened to a point or somewhat blunt, that is used mainly for target shooting. A pile head

7584-478: The nock (rear) end of the arrow with thin double sided tape, glue, or, traditionally, sinew. The most common configuration in all cultures is three fletches, though as many as six have been used. Two makes the arrow unstable in flight. When the arrow is three-fletched , the fletches are equally spaced around the shaft, with one placed such that it is perpendicular to the bow when nocked on the string, though variations are seen with modern equipment, especially when using

7680-500: The performance of these bows: [I]n the war against the Welsh , one of the men of arms was struck by an arrow shot at him by a Welshman. It went right through his thigh, high up, where it was protected inside and outside the leg by his iron chausses , and then through the skirt of his leather tunic; next it penetrated that part of the saddle which is called the alva or seat; and finally it lodged in his horse, driving so deep that it killed

7776-720: The remains of bone and stone arrowheads have been found dating approximately 72,000 to 60,000 years ago. 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

7872-428: 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. 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. The oldest extant bows in one piece are

7968-525: 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. Other signs of its use in Europe come from the Stellmoor  [ de ] in the Ahrensburg valley  [ de ] north of Hamburg , Germany and dates from the late Paleolithic , about 10,000–9000 BC. The arrows were made of pine and consisted of

8064-403: The right hand side of the bow, and this affects construction of the bow. In western archery, the arrow is usually released from the left hand side of the bow for a right-handed archer. Compound bows are designed to reduce the force required to hold the string at full draw, hence allowing the archer more time to aim with less muscular stress. Most compound designs use cams or elliptical wheels on

8160-399: The string hand towards the face, where it should rest lightly at a fixed anchor point . This point is consistent from shot to shot, and is usually at the corner of the mouth, on the chin, to the cheek, or to the ear, depending on preferred shooting style. The archer holds the bow arm outwards, toward the target. The elbow of this arm should be rotated so that the inner elbow is perpendicular to

8256-630: The thoracic cavity of another skeleton, suggest the use of stone-tipped arrows as weapons about 10,000 years ago. 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

8352-538: The thumb or Mongolian draw protected their thumbs, usually with leather according to the author of Arab Archery , but also with special rings of various hard materials. Many surviving Turkish and Chinese examples are works of considerable art. Some are so highly ornamented that the users could not have used them to loose an arrow. Possibly these were items of personal adornment, and hence value, remaining extant whilst leather had virtually no intrinsic value and would also deteriorate with time. In traditional Japanese archery

8448-537: The type favoured by the Mongol warriors, known as the "thumb release", style. This involves using the thumb to draw the string, with the fingers curling around the thumb to add some support. To release the string, the fingers are opened out and the thumb relaxes to allow the string to slide off the thumb. When using this type of release, the arrow should rest on the same side of the bow as the drawing hand i.e. Left hand draw = arrow on left side of bow. The archer then raises

8544-403: The type of launcher being used. The bowstring and arrow are held with three fingers, or with a mechanical arrow release. Most commonly, for finger shooters, the index finger is placed above the arrow and the next two fingers below, although several other techniques have their adherents around the world, involving three fingers below the arrow, or an arrow pinching technique. Instinctive shooting

8640-478: The use of special equipment to be shot to ones in use in the Amazon River jungles that are 2.6 m (8.5 feet) long. Most modern arrows are 55 to 75 cm (22 to 30 inches) in length. Arrows come in many types, among which are breasted, bob-tailed, barreled, clout, and target. A breasted arrow is thickest at the area right behind the fletchings, and tapers towards the (nock) and head. A bob-tailed arrow

8736-414: The very end to contact the bowstring. To load an arrow for shooting ( nocking an arrow), the archer places an arrow across the middle of the bow with the bowstring in the arrow's nock. To shoot, the archer holds the bow at its center with one hand and pulls back ( draws ) the arrow and the bowstring with the other (typically the dominant hand ). This flexes the two limbs of the bow rearwards, which perform

8832-403: Was a medieval weapon used by Welsh soldiers. They were documented by Gerald of Wales about 1188, who writes of the bows used by the Welsh men of Gwent : "They are made neither of horn, ash nor yew, but of elm. He reported that the bows of Gwent were "stiff and strong, not only for missiles to be shot from a distance, but also for sustaining heavy blows in close quarters." He gave examples of

8928-578: Was at least partially responsible for Chinese expansion into the Ordos region, to create a stronger, more powerful buffer zone against them. It is possible that "barbarian" peoples were responsible for introducing archery or certain types of bows to their "civilized" counterparts – the Xiong-nu and the Han being one example. Similarly, short bows seem to have been introduced to Japan by northeast Asian groups. The development of firearms rendered

9024-424: 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

9120-637: Was renowned in ancient Egypt and beyond. Their mastery of the bow gained their land the name Ta-Seti , "Land of the Bow" in Ancient Egyptian. Beginning with the reign of William the Conqueror , the longbow was England's principal weapon of war until the end of the Middle Ages. Genghis Khan and his Mongol hordes conquered much of the Eurasian steppe using short bows. Native Americans used archery to hunt and defend themselves during

9216-430: Was technically identical with the classical era bows, having a range of approximately 91 m (299 ft). 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

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