Editing Archery (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of archery}}

===Origins and ancient archery===
The oldest known evidence of [[arrow]]s (not found with surviving bows) comes from [[South Africa|South African]] sites such as [[Sibudu Cave]], where the remains of bone and stone arrowheads  have been found dating approximately 72,000 to 60,000 years ago.<ref name="Lombard2020">{{Cite journal|title=The tip cross-sectional areas of poisoned bone arrowheads from southern Africa |journal=Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports |volume=33 |year=2020 |doi= 10.1016/j.jasrep.2020.102477 |vauthors=Lombard M|page=102477 |bibcode=2020JArSR..33j2477L |s2cid=224889105 }}</ref><ref name="Backwell">Backwell L, d'Errico F, Wadley L.(2008). Middle Stone Age bone tools from the Howiesons Poort layers, Sibudu Cave, South Africa. Journal of Archaeological Science, 35:1566–1580. {{doi|10.1016/j.jas.2007.11.006}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wadley |first1=Lyn |year=2008 |title=The Howieson's Poort industry of Sibudu Cave |journal=South African Archaeological Society Goodwin Series |volume=10}}</ref><ref name="Lombard">{{Cite journal|title=Indications of bow and stone-tipped arrow use 64,000 years ago in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa |journal=Antiquity |volume=84 |issue=325 |pages=635–648 |year=2010 |doi=10.1017/S0003598X00100134 |vauthors=Lombard M, Phillips L|s2cid=162438490 }}</ref><ref name="Lombard M">{{Cite journal|title=Quartz-tipped arrows older than 60 ka: further use-trace evidence from Sibudu, Kwa-Zulu-Natal, South Africa |journal=Journal of Archaeological Science |year=2011 |doi=10.1016/j.jas.2011.04.001 |vauthors=Lombard M|volume=38 |issue=8 |pages=1918–1930 |bibcode=2011JArSc..38.1918L }}</ref><ref name="Backwell2018">Backwell L, Bradfield J, Carlson KJ, Jashashvili T, Wadley L, d'Errico F.(2018). The antiquity of bow-and-arrow technology: evidence from Middle Stone Age layers at Sibudu Cave. Journal of Archaeological Science, 92:289–303. {{doi|10.15184/aqy.2018.11}}</ref>

However, the earliest remains of complete bows and arrows are found in [[Northern Europe]]. These include the evidence found at Mannheim-Vogelstang, in modern-day [[Germany]], dated 17,500 to 18,000 years ago, and also at Stellmoor dated 11,000 years ago.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rebay-Salisbury |first1=Katharina |last2=Pany-Kucera |first2=Doris |title=Ages and Abilities: The Stages of Childhood and their Social Recognition in Prehistoric Europe and Beyond |date=8 October 2020 |publisher=Archaeopress Publishing Ltd |isbn=978-1-78969-769-8 |page=12 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qfMPEAAAQBAJ&dq=stellmoor+oldest+bow&pg=PA12 |language=en |quote="...oldest bow and arrow fragments are from Stellmoor, Germany, Ahrensburgian terminal Paleolithic (c. 11,000 BP) (Cattelain 1994)"}}</ref>

[[Azilian]] points found in [[Grotte du Bichon]], Switzerland, alongside the remains of both a bear and a hunter, with flint fragments found in the bear's third vertebra, suggest the use of arrows at 13,500 years ago.<ref>« La grotte du Bichon, un site préhistorique des montagnes neuchâteloises  », Archéologie neuchâteloise 42, 2009.</ref>

Other signs of its use in Europe come from the {{Interlanguage link|Stellmoor|de}} in the {{Interlanguage link|Ahrensburg valley|de|3=Stellmoor–Ahrensburger Tunneltal}} north of [[Hamburg]], Germany and dates from the late [[Paleolithic]], about 10,000–9000 BC. The arrows were made of [[pine]] and consisted of a main shaft and a {{convert|15|–|20|cm|abbr=on}} fore shaft with a [[flint]] point. There are no definite earlier bows; previous pointed shafts are known, but may have been launched by [[spear-thrower]]s rather than bows. The [[Holmegaard bow|oldest bows]] known so far comes from the [[Holmegaard|Holmegård]] swamp in Denmark. At the site of [[Nataruk]] in [[Turkana County]], Kenya, [[obsidian]] bladelets found embedded in a skull and within the thoracic cavity of another skeleton, suggest the use of stone-tipped arrows as weapons about 10,000 years ago.<ref>{{Cite journal|title = Inter-group violence among early Holocene hunter-gatherers of West Turkana, Kenya|journal = Nature|pages = 394–398|volume = 529|issue = 7586|doi = 10.1038/nature16477|first1 = M. Mirazón|last1 = Lahr|first2 = F.|last2 = Rivera|first3 = R.K.|last3 = Power|first4 = A.|last4 = Mounier|first5 = B.|last5 = Copsey|first6 = F.|last6 = Crivellaro|first7 = J.E.|last7 = Edung|first8 = J.M. Maillo|last8 = Fernandez|first9 = C.|last9 = Kiarie|pmid=26791728|year=2016|bibcode = 2016Natur.529..394L|s2cid = 4462435|url = https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/253726}}</ref> Bows eventually replaced the [[spear-thrower]] as the predominant means for launching shafted [[projectiles]], on every continent except [[Australasia]], though spear-throwers persisted alongside the bow in parts of the Americas, including Mexico and among the [[Inuit]].

Bows and arrows have been present in [[Egypt]]ian and neighbouring [[Nubia]]n culture since its respective [[Predynastic Egypt|predynastic]] and [[Pre-Kerma]] origins. In the [[Levant]], artifacts that could be arrow-shaft straighteners are known from the [[Natufian culture]], (c. 10,800–8,300 BC) onwards.

[[Classical antiquity|Classical]] civilizations, notably the [[ancient Assyrians|Assyrians]], [[Ancient Greece|Greeks]], [[History of Armenia|Armenians]], [[Achaemenid Empire|Persians]], [[Parthia]]ns, [[Ancient Rome|Roman]]s, [[History of India|Indians]], [[History of Korea|Koreans]], [[History of China|Chinese]], and [[History of Japan|Japanese]] fielded large numbers of archers in their armies. [[Akkadian Empire|Akkadians]] were the first to use [[composite bows]] in war according to the victory stele of [[Naram-Sin of Akkad]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Zutterman|first=C.|date=2003|title=The bow in the Ancient Near East. A re-evaluation of archery from the late 2nd Millennium to the end of the Achaemenid empire|journal=Iranica Antiqua|volume= XXXVIII}}</ref> Egyptians referred to [[Nubia]] as "Ta-Seti," or "The Land of the Bow," since the Nubians were known to be expert archers, and by the 16th Century BC Egyptians were using the composite bow in warfare.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Mc Leod|first=W.E.|date=Jan 1962|title=Egyptian Composite Bows in New York|journal=American Journal of Archaeology|volume= 66|issue=1}}</ref> The Bronze Age Aegean Cultures were able to deploy a number of state-owned specialized bow makers for warfare and hunting purposes already from the 15th century BC.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bakas|first=Spyros|date=2016|title=Composite Bows in Minoan And Mycenaean Warfare|url=https://www.academia.edu/27466913|journal=Syndesmoi|publisher=University of Catania|volume=4}}</ref> The [[Welsh longbow]] proved its worth for the first time in Continental warfare at the [[Battle of Crécy]].<ref>{{cite web | title = Bow Evolution | url = http://www.archery-den.com/bow-evolution/ | access-date = 12 December 2016 | archive-date = 20 December 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161220091812/http://www.archery-den.com/bow-evolution/ | url-status = dead }}</ref> In the Americas archery was widespread at European contact.<ref>{{cite book|last=Zimmerman|first=Larry J.|title=1985 Peoples of Prehistoric South Dakota|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|location=Lincoln and London}}</ref>

Archery was highly developed in Asia. The composite bow was likely invented in [[central Asia]], with the [[Scythians]] being the likely inventors of the first composite bows.<ref name="Loades" /> The [[Sanskrit]] term for archery, [[Dhanurveda|dhanurvidya]], came to refer to martial arts in general. In East Asia, [[Goguryeo]], one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea was well known for its regiments of exceptionally skilled archers.<ref>[[Book of the Later Han]] [http://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E5%BE%8C%E6%BC%A2%E6%9B%B8/%E5%8D%B785]"句驪一名貊耳有別種依小水為居因名曰小水貊出好弓所謂貊弓是也"</ref><ref name="koreantrad">{{citation|title=Korean Traditional Archery|last1=Duvernay|first1=Thomas A.|last2=Duvernay|first2=Nicholas Y.|publisher=Handong Global University|year=2007}}</ref>

===Medieval archery===
The medieval shortbow was technically identical with the classical era bows, having a range of approximately {{convert|91|m|abbr=on}}. It was the primary ranged weapon of the battlefield through the early medieval period. Around the tenth century the [[crossbow]] was introduced in Europe. Crossbows generally had a longer range, greater accuracy and more penetration than the shortbow, but suffered from a much slower rate of fire. Crossbows were used in the early [[Crusades]], with models having a range of {{convert|274|m|abbr=on}} and being able to penetrate armour or kill a horse.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/bow-medieval-warfare|title=The Bow In Medieval Warfare}}</ref>

During the late medieval period the English army famously relied on massed archers armed with the [[longbow]]. The French army relied more on the crossbow.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://collections.royalarmouries.org/hundred-years-war/people.html |title=People of the Hundred Years' War |publisher=Royal Armouries Collections |access-date=17 April 2022 |date=24 May 2018 |archive-date=29 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220929195646/https://collections.royalarmouries.org/hundred-years-war/people.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Like their predecessors archers were more likely to be peasants or yeomen than men-at-arms. The longbow had a range of up to {{convert|270|m|abbr=on}}. However its lack of accuracy at long ranges made it a mass weapon rather than an individual one. Significant victories attributable to the longbow, such as the [[Battle of Crecy]]<ref>{{cite book|title=Trebuchet Energy Efficiency – Experimental Results|first=Ronald|last=Rhoten|date=9 January 2006|publisher=American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics|doi=10.2514/6.2006-775|isbn=978-1624100390}}</ref> and [[Battle of Agincourt]] resulted in the [[English longbow]] becoming part of military lore.

===Mounted archery===
{{Main|Mounted archery}}
[[File:Maximilian 1470.png|thumb|upright|Hunting for flying birds from the back of a galloping horse was considered the top category of archery. The favourite hobby of Prince [[Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor|Maximilian]], engraved by [[Dürer]] ]]

The [[Scythians]] became extremely adept at [[Mounted archery|archery on horseback]], and may have invented the first true composite bow, which they spread across Europe and Asia.<ref name="Loades">{{cite book |last1=Loades |first1=Mike |title=The Composite Bow |date=25 August 2016 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-4728-2161-4 |page=10 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EwSGDAAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref> Lightly armoured, but highly mobile archers were excellently suited to warfare in the Central Asian steppes, and they formed a large part of armies that repeatedly conquered large areas of Eurasia. Shorter bows are more suited to use on horseback, and the [[composite bow]] enabled mounted archers to use powerful weapons.<ref name="HorseArchery">{{citation|title=The Horse, The Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the World|last1=Anthony|first1=David W.|year=2007|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-0691058870}}</ref> [[Seljuk Turks]] used mounted archers against the European [[First Crusade]], especially at the [[Battle of Dorylaeum (1097)]]. One of their tactics was to shoot at the enemy infantry, and use their superior mobility to prevent the enemy from closing with them. Empires throughout the Eurasian landmass often strongly associated their respective "barbarian" counterparts with the usage of the bow and arrow, to the point where powerful states like the [[Han dynasty]] referred to their neighbours, the [[Xiong-nu]], as "Those Who Draw the Bow".<ref name="ChinaEnemies">{{citation|title=Ancient China & Its Enemies: The Rise of Nomadic Power in East Asian History|last1=Di Cosmo|first1=Nicola|year=2001|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0521770644}}</ref> For example, Xiong-nu mounted bowmen made them more than a match for the Han military.<ref name="ChinaEnemies" /> It is possible that "barbarian" peoples were responsible for introducing archery or certain types of bows to their "civilized" counterparts.<ref name="JapanBows">{{citation|title=Armed Martial Arts of Japan: Swordsmanship and Archery|last1=Hurst III|first1=G. Cameron|year=1998|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=0300049676}}</ref>

[[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native Americans]] developed a culture of horseback archery after the introduction of the horse by European explorers in the second millennium.<ref>[[T. R. Fehrenbach|Fehrenbach, Theodore Reed]] (1974) The Comanches: The Destruction of a People. Knopf, New York, {{ISBN|0394488563}}; republished in 2003 under the title The Comanches: The History of a People. New York: Anchor Books. {{ISBN|1400030498}}.</ref>

===Decline of archery===
The development of [[Gunpowder warfare|firearms]] rendered the [[bow and arrow]] obsolete in warfare, although efforts were sometimes made to preserve archery practice. In England and Wales, for example, the government tried to enforce practice with the longbow until the end of the 16th century.<ref>Steven Gunn, ''Archery Practice in Early Tudor England'', Past and Present, (2010) Vol. 209 (1): 53–81. {{doi|10.1093/pastj/gtq029}}</ref> This was because it was recognized that the bow had been instrumental to military success during the [[Hundred Years' War]]. Despite the high social status, ongoing utility, and widespread pleasure of archery in Armenia, China, Egypt, England and Wales, [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|the Americas]], India, Japan, Korea, Turkey and elsewhere, almost every culture that gained access to even early firearms used them widely, to the neglect of archery. Early firearms were inferior in rate-of-fire, and were very sensitive to wet weather. However, they had longer effective range<ref name="koreantrad" /> 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 armor without any need to develop special musculature. Armies equipped with guns could thus provide superior firepower, and highly trained archers became obsolete on the battlefield. However, the bow and arrow is still an effective weapon, and archers have seen military action in the 21st century.<ref>Bows and arrows: deadly weapons of rural Kenya's war. Njoro, Kenya (AFP) 2 February 2008 http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Bows_and_arrows_deadly_weapons_of_rural_Kenyas_war_999.html accessed 21 July 2012</ref><ref>Peace and Poison Arrows in Kenya. By Alexis Okeowo/Nairobi Friday, 29 February 2008. [https://web.archive.org/web/20080302151221/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1718460,00.html] accessed 21at July 2012</ref><ref>The National Disaster in Sad Pictures! http://www.ogiek.org/election-war/election-war-4.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220304130250/http://www.ogiek.org/election-war/election-war-4.htm |date=4 March 2022 }} accessed 21 July 2012</ref> Traditional archery remains in use for sport, and for hunting in many areas.

===English 18th century revival as a sport===
[[File:The meeting of the Royal British Bowmen in the grounds of Erthig, Denbighshire.jpeg|thumb|A print of the 1822 meeting of the "Royal British Bowmen" archery club.]] 
Early recreational archery societies in England included the Finsbury Archers and the Ancient Society of Kilwinning Archers. The latter's annual [[Popinjay (sport)|Papingo]] event was first recorded in 1483. (In this event, archers shoot vertically from the base of an abbey tower to dislodge a wood pigeon placed approximately {{convert|30|m|abbr=on}} above.)<ref>{{cite web|title=About Us - Club History|url=http://www.kilwinningarchers.com/about_us.php|website=Ancient Society of Kilwinning Archers|access-date=24 January 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202030330/http://www.kilwinningarchers.com/about_us.php|archive-date=2 February 2017|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The Royal Company of Archers was formed in 1676 and is one of the oldest sporting bodies in the world.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Norton|first1=William|title=Royal Company of Archers|url=http://yeomenoftheguard.com/company_of_archers.htm|website=Yeomen of the Queen's Body Guard|access-date=24 January 2017|archive-date=31 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170331001405/http://yeomenoftheguard.com/company_of_archers.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> Archery remained a small and scattered pastime, however, until the late 18th century when it experienced a fashionable revival among the [[aristocracy]]. Sir [[Ashton Lever]], an antiquarian and collector, formed the Toxophilite Society in London in 1781, with the patronage of [[George IV|George, the Prince of Wales]].
[[File:Archers by Adam Buck.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Fashionable female archers, 1799]]
Archery societies were set up across the country, each with its own strict entry criteria and outlandish costumes. Recreational archery soon became extravagant social and ceremonial events for the nobility, complete with flags, music and [[21-gun salute]]s for the competitors. The clubs were "the drawing rooms of the great country houses placed outside" and thus came to play an important role in the social networks of the local upper class. As well as its emphasis on display and status, the sport was notable for its popularity with females. Young women could not only compete in the contests but retain and show off their sexuality while doing so. Thus, archery came to act as a forum for introductions, flirtation and romance.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Johnes |first=Martin |url=https://swansea.academia.edu/MartinJohnes/Papers/127610/Archery--Romance-and-Elite-Culture-in-England-and-Wales--c--1780-1840 |title= Archery, Romance and Elite Culture in England and Wales, c. 1780–1840 |journal=History |year=2004 |volume=89 |issue=294 |pages=193–208 |publisher=Swansea.academia.edu |doi=10.1111/j.1468-229X.2004.00297.x |access-date=2013-03-26}}</ref> It was often consciously styled in the manner of a [[Medieval]] [[tournament]] with titles and [[laurel wreath]]s being presented as a reward to the victor. General meetings were held from 1789, in which local lodges convened together to standardise the rules and ceremonies. Archery was also co-opted as a distinctively British tradition, dating back to the lore of [[Robin Hood]] and it served as a patriotic form of entertainment at a time of political tension in Europe. The societies were also elitist, and the new [[middle class]] [[bourgeoisie]] were excluded from the clubs due to their lack of social status.

After the [[Napoleonic Wars]], the sport became increasingly popular among all classes, and it was framed as a nostalgic reimagining of the [[Industrialisation|preindustrial]] rural Britain. Particularly influential was Sir [[Walter Scott]]'s 1819 novel, ''[[Ivanhoe]]'' that depicted the heroic character Lockseley winning an archery tournament.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://martinfrost.ws/htmlfiles/archers.html |title=The Royal Company of Archers |access-date=17 December 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121125050714/http://www.martinfrost.ws/htmlfiles/archers.html |archive-date=25 November 2012}}</ref>

[[File:Lieksa.vaakuna.svg|thumb|upright=0.6|An archery in the coat of arms of [[Lieksa]],<ref>{{cite book|title=Suomen kunnallisvaakunat |publisher=Suomen Kunnallisliitto |year=1982 |page=123 |isbn=9517730853 |language=fi}}</ref> based on the 1669 seal of the old town of Brahea.<ref>[https://runeberg.org/tieto/1/0660.html Branea–Brahma - Projekt Runeberg] {{in lang|fi}}</ref>]]

===A modern sport===
The 1840s saw the second attempts at turning the recreation into a modern sport. The first [[Grand National Archery Society]] meeting was held in [[York]] in 1844 and over the next decade the extravagant and festive practices of the past were gradually whittled away and the rules were standardized as the 'York Round' - a series of shoots at {{convert|55|m|abbr=on}}, {{convert|73|m|abbr=on}}, and {{convert|91|m|abbr=on}}. [[Horace A. Ford]] helped to improve archery standards and pioneered new archery techniques. He won the Grand National 11 times in a row and published a highly influential guide to the sport in 1856.

[[File:Saxton Pope and grizzly.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Picture of [[Saxton Pope]] taken while grizzly hunting at Yellowstone]]
Towards the end of the 19th century, the sport experienced declining participation as alternative sports such as [[croquet]] and [[tennis]] became more popular among the middle class. By 1889, just 50 archery clubs were left in Britain, but it was still included as a sport at the [[1900 Paris Olympics]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Archery results – Pari 1900|url=http://www.olympic.org/content/results-and-medalists/gamesandsportsummary/?sport=31766&games=1900%2f1&event=122225|website=olympic.org|access-date=11 June 2014}}</ref>

The National Archery Association of the United States was organized in 1879, in part by [[Maurice Thompson]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Inductee – J. Maurice Thompson - Archery Hall of Fame and Museum|url=http://www.archeryhalloffame.com/Thamposn,%20Maurice.html|access-date=2022-02-07|website=www.archeryhalloffame.com}}</ref> (the author of the seminal text “[[The Witchery of Archery]]”) and his brother [[William Thompson (archer)|Will Thompson]]. Maurice was president in its inaugural year and Will was president in 1882, 1903, and 1904.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Inductee – Will H. Thompson- Archery Hall of Fame and Museum|url=http://www.archeryhalloffame.com/Thompson%20Will.html|access-date=2022-02-07|website=www.archeryhalloffame.com}}</ref> The 1910 President was Frank E Canfield.<ref>1910 Spalding Official Archery Guide, Spalding Athletic Library & Library of Congress.[http://nebula.wsimg.com/3e8092da33da68bda77739463098a2fd?AccessKeyId=A203C91555201A4407B4&disposition=0&alloworigin=1//] Retrieved Dec 11, 2020</ref> Today it is known as USA Archery and is recognized by [[United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee]].<ref>Geneva Archery. [http://www.genevaarchery.com/archery%20info.htm//] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200708110314/http://www.genevaarchery.com/archery%20info.htm|date=8 July 2020}} Retrieved Dec 11, 2020</ref>

In the United States, primitive archery was revived in the early 20th century. The last of the [[Yahi#Yahi|Yahi Indian]] tribe, a native known as [[Ishi]], came out of hiding in California in 1911.<ref>{{citation|title=The Traditional Bowyer's Bible, Volume 4|last1=Allely|first1=Steve|year=2008|publisher=The Lyons Press|isbn=978-0964574168|display-authors=etal}}</ref><ref>{{citation|title=Ishi in Two Worlds: a biography of the last wild Indian in North America|last=Kroeber|first=Theodora|publisher=[[University of California Press]]|place=Berkeley|year=2004|isbn=978-0520240377}}</ref> His doctor, [[Saxton Pope]], learned many of Ishi's traditional archery skills, and popularized them.<ref>{{citation|title=Hunting with the Bow and Arrow|last=Pope|first=Saxton|publisher= G. P. Putnam's Sons|place=New York|year=1925}}</ref><ref>{{citation|title=Adventurous Bowmen: field notes on African archery|last=Pope|first=Saxton|publisher=[[G. P. Putnam's Sons]]|place=New York|year=1926}}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=May 2016}} {{citation needed span|The [[Pope and Young Club]], founded in 1961 and named in honor of Pope and his friend, Arthur Young, became one of North America's leading bowhunting and conservation organizations. Founded as a nonprofit scientific organization, the Club was patterned after the prestigious [[Boone and Crockett Club]] and advocated responsible bowhunting by promoting quality, fair chase hunting, and sound conservation practices.|date=May 2016}}

[[File:Archery contest at CNE, 1931.tif|thumb|right|Five women taking part in an archery contest in 1931]] 
From the 1920s, professional engineers took an interest in archery, previously the exclusive field of traditional craft experts.<ref name="technical">{{citation|title=Archery: The Technical Side. A compilation of scientific and technical articles on theory, construction, use and performance of bows and arrows, reprinted from journals of science and of archery|last1=Hickman|first1=C. N.|last2=Nagler|first2=Forrest|last3=Klopsteg|first3=Paul E.|publisher=[[National Field Archery Association]]|year=1947}}</ref> They led the commercial development of new forms of bow including the modern [[recurve bow|recurve]] and [[compound bow]]. These modern forms are now dominant in modern Western archery; traditional bows are in a minority.  Archery returned to the Olympics in 1972. 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 Bibles'' (see Further reading). Modern game archery owes much of its success to [[Fred Bear]], an American bow hunter and bow manufacturer.<ref>Bertalan, Dan. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=sYBT1c2NKVoC&pg=PA73 Traditional Bowyers Encyclopedia]'':
''The Bowhunting and Bowmaking World of the Nation's Top Crafters of Longbows and Recurves'', 2007. p. 73.</ref>

===Mythology===
[[File:Vishwamitra archery training-1.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Vishwamitra]] archery training from [[Ramayana]]]]
[[File:Herakles the Archer - Émile Antoine Bourdelle - ABDAG004586.jpg|thumb|''Herakles the Archer'' by [[Émile Antoine Bourdelle]]]]

Deities and heroes in several mythologies are described as archers, including the Greek [[Artemis]] and [[Apollo]], the Roman [[Diana (mythology)|Diana]] and [[Cupid]], the Germanic [[Agilaz]], continuing in legends like those of [[Wilhelm Tell]], [[Palnetoke]], or [[Robin Hood]]. Armenian [[Hayk]] and Babylonian [[Marduk]], Indian [[Karna]] (also known as Radheya/son of Radha), [[Abhimanyu]], [[Eklavya]], [[Arjuna]], [[Bhishma]], [[Drona]], [[Rama]], and [[Shiva]] were known for their shooting skills. The famous archery competition of hitting the eye of a rotating fish while watching its reflection in the water bowl was one of the many archery skills depicted in the ''[[Mahabharata]]''.<ref>
[http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/digital-illustration-of-skilled-archer-arjuna-aiming-arrow-at-fish-hung-from-revolving-wheel-above-h-dorling-kindersley.jpg Digital illustration of skilled archer Arjuna aiming arrow at fish hung from revolving wheel above by Doring Kindersley], Fine Art America</ref>
Persian [[Arash (mythology)|Arash]] was a famous archer. Earlier Greek representations of [[Heracles]] normally depict him as an archer. Archery, and the bow, play an important part in the epic poem the ''Odyssey,'' when Odysseus returns home in disguise and then bests the suitors in an archery competition after hinting at his identity by stringing and drawing his great bow that only he can draw, a similar motif is present in the Turkic Iranian heroic archeheroic poem ''Alpamysh''.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Zhimunsky|first=Victor|date=1966|title=The Epic of 'Alpamysh' and the Return of Odysseus|journal=Proceedings of the British Academy|volume=52|pages=267–286}}</ref>

The {{Transliteration|grc|[[Nymphai Hyperboreioi]]}} ({{lang|grc|Νύμφαι Ὑπερβόρειοι}}) were worshipped on the Greek island of Delos as attendants of [[Artemis]], presiding over aspects of archery; {{Transliteration|grc|Hekaerge}} ({{lang|grc|Ἑκαέργη}}), represented distancing, {{Transliteration|grc|Loxo}} ({{lang|grc|Λοξώ}}), trajectory, and {{Transliteration|grc|Oupis}} ({{lang|grc|Οὖπις}}), aim.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theoi.com/Nymphe/NymphaiHyperboreiai.html |title=Nymphai Hyperboreioi at Theoi Greek Mythology |publisher=Theoi.com |access-date=26 March 2013}}</ref>

[[Hou Yi|Yi the archer]] and his apprentice [[Feng Meng]] appear in several early Chinese myths,<ref name="selby">{{citation
| title= Chinese Archery
| last= Selby| first = Stephen
| publisher= Hong Kong University Press
| year= 2000
| isbn= 978-9622095014
}}</ref> and the historical character of [[Zhou Tong (archer)|Zhou Tong]] features in many fictional forms. [[Jumong]], the first [[Taewang]] of the [[Goguryeo]] kingdom of the [[Three Kingdoms of Korea]], is claimed by legend to have been a near-godlike archer. Archery features in the story of Oguz Khagan. Similarly, archery and the bow feature heavily into historical Korean identity.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Ok|first1= Gwang|last2= Seokgyu|first2= Choi|first3= Hee|last3= Surk Jeong|date=2010|title='The Disturbance of War': The Ancient Origin and Development of Korean Archery|journal=The International Journal of the History of Sport|volume=27|issue=3|pages=523–536|doi=10.1080/09523360903556824|s2cid=161376479}}</ref>

In [[West Africa]]n [[Yoruba religion|Yoruba]] belief, [[Ochosi|Osoosi]] is one of several deities of the hunt who are identified with bow and arrow iconography and other insignia associated with archery.