A Short History of Bows.

Bows and arrows have been close to man’s hand from the Stone Age to modern times. They are familiar objects to both children and adults, rather than objects only seen in museums. Toy bows still feature in letters to ‘Santa’ and are often bought as play things for children, (and adults), in much the same way as cave men probably made toy bows for their children. Serious hunting bows and sophisticated archery bows are becoming more popular as sportsmen are returning to more traditional ways of hunting and to the sport of archery which is a greatly contested event in the Olympic Games.

It’s almost as if man has come a full circle with regard to bows. They were a necessity for survival to early man, a weapon for warfare and now once again used for sport and hunting. Even the design has returned to the original long bow which is still being used for hunting and in archery competitions.

The creation of the bow and arrow, about 15000 years ago, must have been a major step forward for our ancestors. A man with a bow and arrow could shoot more and larger animals at a far greater range than a man with a spear or sling, making him more respected socially and his group more likely to survive and prosper, because of the reliable sourcing of food and the protection afforded by the bow.

Once developed the technology of making bows and arrows spread, not as quickly as new ideas spread today but probably with greater importance and impact, in the regions of North Africa and Southern Europe. Both hunting and warfare techniques were drastically changed by the advent of the bow and arrow and it was only with the discovery of gunpowder that the importance of the bow began to wane.

As with all weapons created by man for hunting and warfare they quickly evolved to become more efficient in killing, especially if it meant gaining an advantage over another group of men. Materials for making bows and arrows were experimented with and as a result different designs developed according to the environment that the bow was to be used in and specific requirements of the bow; hence the difference between the English longbow and Asian composite bow. Stone Age technology was capable of producing sharp flint points for the arrows, often with barbs to secure them in the victim's flesh.

Later classical civilizations, notably the Persians, Parthians, Egyptians, Indians, Koreans, Chinese, and Japanese, fielded large numbers of archers in their armies with devastating effect. Arrows were especially destructive against unarmored masses and the use of archers often proved decisive. When armour was introduced, armour piercing arrows shot from powerful long bows were developed. Mounted horse archers who combined range with speed and mobility used shorter bows that could be shot from the saddle.

Bows and arrows have been present in all cultures and played an important role in achieving and maintaining their superiority.

The ancient Egyptians used bows as early as 5000 years ago. Archery was widespread by the time of the earliest pharaohs and was practiced both for hunting and use in warfare.

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. The Chariot warriors of the Kassites relied heavily on the bow. 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, until the advent of Islam. The Aryans used bows and arrows, often on war chariots. Detailed accounts of training methodologies in early India concern archery, considered to be an essential martial skill.

Chinese use of archery dates back to the Shang dynasty. The Chinese used war chariots with archers. The following Zhou dynasty saw contests of archery being held in the presence of nobility. By the end of the Zhou period, works on history, music, ritual, archery, and other topics were recorded on bamboo or wood, emphasizing it’s importance.

In East Asia the ancient Korean civilizations were well-known for their archery skills. Horse archers were the main military force of most of the Equestrian Nomads. These skills have been maintained in Asia as witnessed in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing where both China and South Korea dominated the archery events.
Archery was widely known among the indigenous peoples of North America, from pre-Columbian times. Tribesmen of the Great Plains became extremely adept at archery on horseback and were among the few to retain the use of bows for warfare after the advent of firearms.

In Southern Africa the San people, more commonly known as ‘Bushmen’, still hunt with bows and poison tipped arrows.

In Europe the people of Crete practiced archery and Cretan mercenary archers were in great demand. When the Roman Empire expanded it incorporated Cretan archers into the ranks. The Greek god Apollo is the god of archery, and the sun; the rays of which were thought to be invisible arrows. Artemis, the goddess of wild places and hunting, Odysseus and other mythological figures are often depicted with bows.

The early Romans had very few archers. As their empire grew, they recruited auxiliary archers from other nations. By the height of the Empire 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 horse archers belonging to the Hun invaders, and later Eastern Roman armies relied heavily on mounted archery.

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