A Brief History of Archery

Evidence has shown that archery in it’s most ancient form was practiced as early as 10,000 BC. Prior to this, arrows or pointed spears were propelled not by a bow but by a spear-throwing device known as an atlatl.

Whilst the bow and arrow was a major weapon in armies throughout the world, combat archery was most heavily utilised and developed in Asia, with some of the most skilled archers originating from East Asia’s Korean civilisations.

The demise of archery in combat came as a result of the development of firearms, despite the fact that early firearms would be hugely inferior to the ‘bow and arrow’ on the basis of attack rates and reliability. Despite the inevitable decline, archers have still been utilised in combat situations this century.