Ancient touch
Archery, one of the oldest sports still practiced, is closely linked to the development of civilisation. As a cultural advance, it was comparable to the discovery of fire and the invention of the wheel. The bow seems to have been invented by the late Paleolithic or early Mesolithic. The oldest bows known so far come from the Holmegård swamp in Denmark.
The last recorded use of bows in battle in Britain seems to have been a skirmish at Bridgnorth; in October 1642, during the English Civil
War, an impromptu militia was effective against un-armoured musketmen. The most recent death in war from British archery was probably in 1940, on the retreat to Dunkirk.
The discovery of the first stone arrowheads in Africa tends to indicate that the bow and arrow were invented there, maybe as early as 50,000 BC. 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.
Archery as sports
Archery was the favorite sport of the Egyptian pharaohs during the 18th dynasty (1567-1320 BC). Many centuries later, some of the earliest recorded archery tournaments took place during the Zhou (Chou) dynasty (1027- 256 BC) in China. Such events were attended by Chinese nobility. The archery tournament known as the ‘Ancient Scorton Arrow’ in 1673 AD was founded in Yorkshire, England. Which is the oldest archery tournament still held today.
Olympic movement
Archery first appeared in the Olympic Games in 1900, was contested again in 1904, 1908 and 1920, then again, after an absence of 52 years, from 1972 to the present. The most decorated archer in Olympic history is Hubert Van Innis of Belgium who competed in 1900 and 1920, winning six gold and three silver medals.
indianolympic 