STL All Sports

The origin of archery is lost in antiquity--it is one of the oldest of human sports, yet one of the most popular of its type in modern times. In certain periods of civilized history, archery was the most popular and widely-practiced of all sports.

Archery had its inception, not as a sport, but as a method of self-preservation, the bow and arrow being used in primitive cultures as implements of warfare and as a means of providing food and raiment. It is a characteristic of primitive peoples that, in times of peace and plenty, they utilized in sport the implements and skills of warfare and hunting. Thus, even in the periods when the bow and arrow was a means of sustenance and protection, archery was much practiced as a sport. An illustration is seen in the customs of various tribes of American Indians, among whom the bow was the chief weapon of fighting and hunting, yet was widely used in contests and games, particularly by the young.

It would be difficult to determine which early folk was first to use the bow and arrow. The evidence seems to indicate that it was used simultaneously by many different cultures in various parts of the world--the Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks, American Indians, and many others.

In civilized history, as in the primitive cultures, archery was early encouraged as a sport. In fact, in some countries it was not only encouraged but people were compelled by their rulers to learn to shoot. This was particularly true in England, and during the last half of the sixteenth century the sport had gained a widespread following in that country among the rank and file of the citizens. The credit for this great impetus largely goes to Roger Ascham, a skillful archer, who, beginning in 1545, did much to popularize the sport with the result that many archery societies sprang into being.