history1

From prehistoric times, the bow was a principal weapon of war and of the hunt throughout the world, except in Australia. Some authorities date the origin of archery as early as the Aurignacian period, about 25,000 years before the modern era. The earliest people known to have used the bow and arrow were the ancient Egyptians, who adopted the weapon at least 5000 years ago, in the time of the earliest pharaohs. The Egyptians practiced archery in hunting, as well as in warfare against the ancient Persians, who were then equipped only with spears and slingshots. In approx 2800 BC, the first composite bow was produced by the Egyptians. It was made from wood, tipped with animal horn and held together with animal sinew and glue. Unstrung, it resembled a "C" shape and would have required 2 people to string it. The bowstring was made from "catgut" (sheep intestines). The arrows used were extremely light, could be shot 400 yards using the composite bow and would easily penetrate the armor of that time period. The Egyptians used archers on the back of light chariots who were highly trained and skilled and could easily outflank an enemy army with devastating effect.

Recreational archery was also practiced, among the ancient Egyptians and Greeks, one instance of the latter being the competition in which Odysseus won the hand of Penelope. The bow and arrow was used extensively in the ancient world, the Assyrians and Babylonians depended on the weapon, and the Old Testament refers to archery as a characteristic skill of the ancient Hebrews. There are, apparently, 130 references to the bow and arrow in the Bible -both literal and figurative. Most are in the Old Testament with a dozen in the Apocrypha, and only two or three in the New Testament. In China, archery dates back to the Shang dynasty (1570?-1045? bc). A war chariot of that time carried a three-man team: driver, lancer, and archer. During the ensuing Zhou (Chou) dynasty (1045?-256 bc), nobles at court attended sport archery tournaments that were accompanied by music and interspersed with elegant salutations.

The Greeks never saw much use in the bow as a weapon until the end of the Peloponessian wars. Instead they seem to have employed Scythians as archers, this is most likely because they used the bow in a different way than the Scyths did. The Scyths pulled the string back with the index finger and the middle finger of their right hand while the end of the arrow rested between these two fingers. This method was mostly used through the Mediterranean. The Greeks on the other hand held the end of the arrow between the thumb and the index finger, and pulled the string back with the end of the arrow. This way they could not pull back the string as much as the Scyths could. As a result of this they could aim not so well, they were not able to shoot as far as the Scyths, and the arrow had less energy to penetrate armour.