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History
Main article: History of archery
The bow seems to
have been invented
in the late
Paleolithic or
early Mesolithic.
The oldest
indication for its
use in Europe comes
from the Stellmoor
in the Ahrensburg
valley
north of Hamburg,
Germany and date
from the late
Paleolithic
Hamburgian culture
(9000-8000 BC). 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. There
are no known
definite earlier
bows; previous
pointed shafts are
known, but may have
been launched by
atlatls rather than
bows.
The oldest bows
known so far come
from the Holmegård
swamp in Denmark. In
the 1940s, two bows
were found there.
They are made of elm
and have flat arms
and a D-shaped
midsection. The
center section is
biconvex. The
complete bow is
1.50 m (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 120 cm
[4 ft]) and made of
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.
Bows and arrows have
been present in
Egyptian 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.
Hoops rolled with
sticks, such as
this, were widely
used as targets
by indigenous
archers in North
America
The bow was one of
the earliest forms
of artillery. Bows
eventually replaced
the atlatl as the
predominant means
for launching
projectiles.
Classical
civilizations,
notably the
Persians,
Macedonians,
Nubians, Greeks,
Koreans, Parthians,
Indians, Japanese,
and Chinese fielded
large numbers of
archers in their
armies. Arrows
proved exceptionally
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.
During the Middle
Ages, archery in
warfare was not as
prevalent and
dominant in Western
Europe as popular
myth sometimes
dictates. Archers
were quite often the
lowest-paid soldiers
in an army or were
conscripted from the
peasantry. This was
due to the cheap
nature of the bow
and arrow, as
compared to the
expense needed to
equip a professional
man-at-arms with
good armour and a
sword. Professional
archers required a
lifetime of training
and expensive bows
to be effective, and
were thus rare in
Europe (see English
longbow).
Archery was highly
developed in Asia
and in the Islamic
world. In East Asia
the ancient Korean
civilizations were
well-known for their
archery skills, and
South Korea remains
a particularly
strong performer at
Olympic archery
competitions even to
this day. Horse
archers were the
main military force
of most of the
Equestrian Nomads.
Central Asian and
American Plains
tribesmen were
extremely adept at
archery on
horseback.
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Decline
and Revival of Archery
The advent of firearms rendered bows obsolete in warfare. Despite the high social status, ongoing utility, and widespread pleasure of archery in England, Japan, Korea, China, Turkey, America, Egypt, and elsewhere, 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. But 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 by sheer weight of numbers, and highly-trained archers became obsolete on the battlefield. "Have them bring as many guns as possible, for no other equipment is needed. Give strict orders that all men, even the samurai, carry guns." 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. Archery remained an important part of the military examinations until 1894 (in Korea) and 1904 (in China).
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 in the later 1800s. 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 Emperor Gojong, and is the basis of a popular modern sport. Japanese continue to make and use their unique traditional equipment. Among the Cherokees and the British, popular use of longbows never entirely died out. In China, the revival of archery continued until the Cultural Revolution, when it was suppressed; the last of the traditional Chinese bowmakers is now working again. In modern times, horse archery continues to be practiced in some Asian countries but is not used in international competition. Modern Hungarians have revived horsed archery as a competitive sport. Archery is the national sport of the Kingdom of Bhutan.
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Modern
Primitive Archery
After the American Civil War, two Confederate veterans, Maurice and Will Thompson, revived archery in America. The two brothers and a former slave lived in the wild in the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia. As ex-Confederate soldiers they were not allowed to own guns, so they needed other ways to hunt for food. For some reason, the former slave (Thomas Williams) knew something about English-style Archery (using a longbow) 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. Once he came out of hiding, he was extensively studied and then lived at the University of California at Berkeley Anthropology Museum. His medical caretaker, Dr. Saxton Pope, was an instructor of surgery at the 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's time was short however, and he 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 by primitive archers. 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 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 Bible" (see bibliography).
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Equipment
Types
of bows
-
Main
article: Bow (weapon)
A longbow
is a type of bow that is tall
(roughly equal to or greater than
the height of a person), is not
recurved, and has relatively narrow
limbs that are circular or D-shaped
in cross section. The traditional
English longbow is usually made so
that its thickness is at least ⅝ of
its width. If the thickness is less
than ⅝ of its width then the bow
would be disqualified from most
modern longbow competitions.
Typically a longbow is widest at the
handle. Longbows have been used for
hunting and warfare, by many
cultures around the world, a famous
example being the English longbow,
during the Middle Ages.
A shortbow
is a smaller version of the longbow.
While it is lighter and more
maneuverable, it can be drawn less
far, therefore stores less energy
and hence has a shorter maximum
range. Short bows were used for
hunting by, among others, many West
Coast American tribes.
A recurve
bow is the only class of bow that is
shot at the Olympic Games. Its basic
working principles are similar to
that of a traditional longbow. Its
defining feature is that the ends of
the limbs curve forwards slightly,
which increases the power gained
from the bow and smoothens the draw.
A compound
bow is designed to reduce the force
that an archer must hold, yet
increase the overall energy stored
by the bow. Most compound designs
use cams or elliptical wheels on the
ends of the limbs to optimize the
leverage exerted by the archer and
to reduce the holding force of the
bow at full draw in what is known as
the "let-off". With less force
required to hold a compound bow at
full draw, the muscles take longer
to fatigue, thus giving a compound
archer more time to aim. A compound
bow must be adjusted so that the
let-off occurs at the correct draw
length appropriate to the archer.
A crossbow
is a variation on the general bow
design. Instead of the limbs being
held vertically, they are mounted
horizontally on a stock much like
that of a firearm. The limb design
can either be compound or a recurve
but the basic concept of shooting is
the same. The string is pulled back
either manually or with a windlass
and locked into place. The string
remains in this locked position,
held soley through mechanical means
until the energy stored in its limbs
is released by a trigger mechanism,
which launches the loaded missile.
The energy stored in the shortened
limbs is comparable to the longbow
but packed into a smaller design
that is also much easier to aim.
Crossbows shoot quarrels or bolts,
shorter arrows than those usual for
bows.
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Types
of Arrows and Fletching
A normal
arrow consists of shaft with an
arrowhead attached the front end,
with fletching and a nock at the
other. Shafts are usually made of
solid wood, fiberglass, aluminum
alloy, or carbon fiber. Wooden
arrows are prone to warping.
Fiberglass arrows are brittle, but
are more easily produced to uniform
specifications. Aluminum shafts were
a very popular high-performance
choice in the later half of the 20th
century due to their light weight,
and subsequently higher speed and
flatter trajectories. Carbon fiber
arrows became popular in the 1990s
and are very light, flying even
faster and flatter than aluminum
arrows.
The
arrowhead is the primary functional
part of the arrow, and plays the
largest role in determining its
purpose. Some arrows may simply use
a sharpened tip of the solid shaft,
but it is far more common for
separate arrowheads to be made,
usually from metal, horn, or some
other hard material. The most
commonly-used forms are target
points, field points, and
broadheads, although there are also
other types, like bodkin, judo, and
blunts.
Feather
fletches
Fletching
is traditionally made from bird
feathers, but solid plastic vanes
are also used. They are attached
near the nock (rear) end of the
arrow with glue, or, traditionally,
sinew. The fletching is equally
spaced around the shaft with one
placed such that it is perpendicular
to the bow when nocked on the
string. This fletch is called the
"index fletch" or "cock feather",
(the others sometimes being called
the "hen feathers") and is a
reference for the nocking of the
arrow. Three fletches is the most
common configuration, though more
may be used. The fletching is
sometimes attached at a slight
angle, to introduce a stabilizing
spin to the arrow while in flight.
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 fletching can often
change the arrow's flight path
dramatically.
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Protective
equipment
Most archers wear a bracer (also
known as an arm-guard) to protect
the inside of the bow arm and
prevent clothing from catching the
bow string. The Navajo people have
developed highly-ornamented bracers
as non-functional items of
adornment. Some archers also wear
protection on their chests, called
chestguards. Chestguards are to
prevent the bowstring from being
obstructed by the archer's body or
clothing as it is released. They
also protect the archer. Roger
Ascham mentions one archer,
presumably with an unusual shooting
style, who wore a leather guard for
his face.
The drawing
fingers, or thumb in the case of
archers using the thumb or Mongolian
draw, are normally protected by a
leather tab, glove, or thumb ring. A
simple tab of leather is commonly
used, as is a skeleton glove.
Mediaeval Europeans probably used a
complete leather glove.
Eurasiatic
archers using the 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 they could not have
been used to loose an arrow.
Presumably these were items of
personal adornment. In traditional
Japanese archery a special glove is
used, provided with a ridge which is
used to draw the string.
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Modern
Western-style competitive form
To shoot an arrow, an archer
first assumes the correct stance.
The body should be 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 an
'open stance' is used/developed.
Each archer will have a particular
preference but mostly this term
indicates that the leg furthest from
the shooting line will be a half to
a whole foot-length in front of the
other, on the ground.
To load,
the bow is pointed toward the ground
and the shaft of the arrow is placed
on an arrow rest which is attached
in the bow window. The back of the
arrow is attached to the bowstring
with the 'nock' (a small plastic
component which is typified by a 'v'
groove for this purpose). This is
called nocking the arrow. Typical
arrows with three vanes should be
oriented such that a single vane is
pointing away from the bow. This
vane is often coloured differently
and has numerous names such as index
fletch and cock feather.
The
bowstring and arrow are held with
three fingers. When using a sight,
the index finger is placed above the
arrow and the next two fingers
below. The string is usually placed
in either the first or second joint
of the fingers.
The bow is
then raised and drawn. This is often
one fluid motion which tends to vary
from archer to archer. The string
hand is drawn towards the face,
where it should rest lightly at an
anchor point. This point is
consistent from shot to shot and is
usually at the corner of the mouth
or on the chin. The bow arm is held
outwards toward the target. The
elbow of this arm should be rotated
so that the inner elbow is not
hyper-extended as this leads to a
tendency for the bowstring to scrape
the inside of the wrist or to catch
on the arm guard when released. The
bow should always remain vertical.
In proper
form, the archer stands erect,
forming a 'T'. The archer's back
muscles are used to pull the arrow
to the anchor point. Some bows will
be equipped with a mechanical
device, called a clicker, which
produces a clicking sound when the
archer reaches the correct draw
length.
The arrow
is typically released by relaxing
the fingers of the drawing hand. An
archer should pay attention to the
recoil or follow through of his or
her body, as it may indicate
problems with form (technique).
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Target
Archery
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Main article:
Target archery
Outdoor target competition.
Modern
competitive target archery is often
governed by the International
Archery Federation, abbreviated FITA
(Fédération Internationale de Tir à
l'Arc). Olympic rules are derived
from FITA rules.
Target
archery competitions may be held
indoors or outdoors. Indoor
distances are 18 m and 25 m. Outdoor
distances range from 30 m to 90 m.
Competition is divided into ends of
3 or 6 arrows. After each end, the
competitors walk to the target to
score and retrieve their arrows.
Archers have a set time limit in
which to shoot their arrows.
An official FITA target
Targets are
marked with 10 evenly spaced
concentric rings, which have score
values from 1 through 10 assigned to
them. In addition, there is an inner
10 ring, sometimes called the X
ring. This becomes the 10 ring at
indoor compound competitions.
Outdoors, it serves as a tiebreaker
with the archer scoring the most X's
winning. Archers score each end by
summing the scores for their arrows.
Line breakers, an arrow just
touching a scoring boundary line,
will be awarded the higher score.
Different
rounds and distances use different
size target faces. These range from
40 cm (18 m FITA Indoor) to 122 cm
(70 m and 90 m FITA, used in Olympic
competition).
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Field
Archery
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Main article:
Field archery
Field
archery involves shooting at targets
of varying (and sometimes unmarked)
distance, often in rough terrain.
Three
common types of rounds (in the NFAA)
are the field, hunter, and animal. A
round consists of 28 targets in two
units of 14. Field rounds are at
'even' distances up to 80 yards
(some of the shortest are measured
in feet instead), using targets with
a black bullseye (5 points), a white
center (4) ring, and black outer (3)
ring. Hunter rounds use 'uneven'
distances up to 70 yards, and
although scoring is identical to a
field round, the target has an
all-black face with a white bullseye.
Children and youth positions for
these two rounds are closer, no more
than 30 and 50 yards, respectively.
Animal rounds use life-size 2D
animal targets with 'uneven'
distances reminiscent of the hunter
round. The rules and scoring are
also significantly different. The
archer begins at the first station
of the target and shoots his first
arrow. If it hits, he does not have
to shoot again. If it misses, he
advances to station two and shoots a
second arrow, then to station three
for a third if needed. Scoring areas
are vital (20, 16, or 12) and
nonvital (18, 14, or 10) with points
awarded depending on which arrow
scored first. Again, children and
youth shoot from reduced range.
One goal of
field archery is to improve the
technique and abilities required for
bowhunting in a more realistic
outdoor setting, but without
introducing the complication and
guesswork of unknown distances. As
with golf, fatigue can be an issue
as the athlete walks the distance
between targets across sometimes
rough terrain.
A home-made
Archery target
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3D
Archery
3D archery is a subset of field
archery focusing on shooting at
life-size models of game, and is
popular with hunters. It is most
common to see unmarked distances in
3D archery, as the goal is to
accurately recreate a hunting
environment for competition.
On these
animals there are 4 rings, only 3 of
these are used in ASA shoots. The
one that isn't used very often is
the 14 ring. This can only be scored
if you call it before you shoot, and
even then it may not be allowed.
Next is the 12 ring inside of the 10
ring, inside of the 8 ring. Anything
on the target that is outside of the
8, 10, 12, or 14 rings is a 5. If
you miss the target, you score a
zero.
Though the
goal is hunting practice, hunting
tips (broadheads) are not used, as
they would tear up the foam targets
too much. Normal target or field
tips, of the same weight as the
intended broadhead, are used
instead.
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Clout
Archery (G.N.A.S. rules in the United
Kingdom)
Similar to
target archery, except that the
archer attempts to drop arrows at
long range (180 yards / 165 m for
the men and 140 yards / 128 m for
women; there are shorter distances
for juniors depending on age) into a
group of concentric circular scoring
zones on the ground surrounding a
marker flag. The flag is 12 inches
(30 cm) square and is fixed to a
stick. The flag should be as near to
the ground as is practicable.
Archers shoot 'ends' of six arrows
then, when given the signal to do
so, archers proceed to the target
area. A Clout round usually consists
of 36 arrows. Clout tournaments are
usually a 'Double Clout' round (36
arrows shot twice). They can be shot
in one direction (one way) or both
directions (two way). All bow types
may compete (longbows, recurve,
barebow and compound).
- Scoring. A
'rope' with a loop on the end is
placed over the flag stick. This
rope is divided into the scoring
zones of the target: Gold (5
points), Red (4 points), Blue (3
points), Black (2 points) and White
(1 point). The rope is 'walked'
around the target area and arrows
falling within a particular scoring
zone are withdrawn and, on
completion of the full circle, are
laid out on the rope on the
corresponding colours. The
designated scorer would then call
out the archers' names and the
archers would (in turn) call out
their scores as they pick up their
arrows. The scores must be called in
descending order as with target
archery.
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Traditional
Competitions
The following are not listed on
the FITA website but are
competitions that have a long
tradition in their respective
countries.
Beursault
A traditional northern French and
Belgian archery contest. Archers
teams shoot alternately at two
targets facing each other, 50 meters
away. A perpendicular array of
wooden walls secures a path parallel
to the shooting range. After each
round, the archers take their own
arrow and shoot directly in the
opposite direction (thus having
opposite windage). One shoots always
the same arrow, supposedly the best
built, as it was difficult in
medieval times to have constant
arrow quality. The round
black-and-white target mimics the
size of a soldier: its diameter is
shoulder-wide, the center is
heart-sized.
Popinjay
(or Papingo)
A form of archery originally
derived from shooting birds on
church steeples. Popinjay is popular
in Belgium, but little known
elsewhere. Archers stand within 12
feet (3.7 m) of the bottom of a 90
ft (27 m) mast and shoot almost
vertically upwards with 'blunts'
(arrows with rubber caps on the
front instead of a pile), the object
being to dislodge any one of a
number of wooden 'birds'. These
birds must be one Cock, four Hens,
and a minimum of twenty-four Chicks.
A Cock scores 5 points when hit and
knocked off its perch; a Hen, 3; and
a Chick, 1 point.
A Papingo
is also hosted during the summer in
Scotland by the Ancient Society of
Kilwinning Archers. The archers
shoot at a wooden bird suspended
from the steeple of Kilwinning
Abbey. Here only one bird is the
target, and the archers take it in
turn to shoot with a longbow until
the "bird" is shot down.
Roving
Marks
The oldest form of competitive
archery, as practiced by Henry VIII.
The archers will shoot to a "mark"
then shoot from that mark to another
mark. A mark is a post or flag to be
aimed at. As with clout a rope or
ribbon is used to score the arrows.
In the Finsbury Mark the scoring
system is 20 for hitting the mark,
12 for within ~3ft, 7 points for
within the next ~6ft and 3 points
for within the next ~9ft.
Wand
shoot
A Traditional English archery
contest. Archers take turns shooting
at a vertical strip of wood, the
wand, usually about six feet high
and three to six inches wide. Points
are awarded for hitting the strip.
As the target is a long vertical
strip this competition allows for
more errors in elevation, however
since no points are awarded for near
misses the archers windage accuracy
becomes more important.
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Archery
as an Entertainment Art
Main article: Impalement
arts
Demonstrations of archery skill are
sometimes featured as entertainment
in circuses or wild west shows.
Sometimes these acts feature a
performer acting as a human "target"
(strictly speaking they are not the
target as the objective of the
archer is to narrowly miss them,
however they are frequently referred
to as human targets). Archery in
this context is sometimes known as
one of the "impalement arts", a
category which also includes knife
throwing and sharpshooting
demonstrations. Howard Hill used his
extraordinary accuracy for stunts
such as shooting small items off a
person's head, and for the archery
in the 1938 Robin Hood film,
starring Errol Flynn. He used a
heavy hunting bow to hit small
reinforced target areas on the
chests of actors in motion.
It is
important to note the strict
separation between archery practised
as a competitive sport and archery
as an impalement art. For example,
organising bodies for competitive
archery prohibit activity that
involves deliberate shooting in the
general direction of a human being.
The separation between the worlds of
competition archery and the
impalement arts is more marked than
that between, for example, knife
throwing as a sport and as an
entertainment. While some
competition knife throwers have also
performed circus acts and there are
official organisations that embrace
both worlds, there is little or no
evidence of such crossover in
archery.
Archery
involving a person in the vicinity
of the target is a particularly
dangerous practice and, even with
very experienced performers, there
have been cases of very serious
injury.
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