Archery is believed to be originated in the African Continent. Stone arrowheads unearthed in Africa indicate that bows and arrows were invented in Africa. During the initial stages, bows and arrows were used to hunt animals for food. The humans probably felt the need to design a better hunting weapon than spear thrower. Bows and arrows are also found in a few places in Europe like Germany and Denmark. There is evidence of bows being used by the Egyptians in their wars against the Persians. The bows quickly became a popular weapon of war. The great Mongol Ghengis Khan’s army used bows and arrows effectively to subjugate their enemies. He had expert archers who helped him conquer more than half the civilized world at that time.

Bow hunting is one of the most ancient sports disciplines. Initially, it was used to hunt animals for food. Later on, it became an integral part of the weapons in wars. With the invention of gun powder, the significance of archery seems to have lessened. Archery is no longer is used in modern day warfare. Archery is a recognized sports discipline now. It is also an Olympic sport. Technology has improved the bows and arrows to a large extent. Aerodynamic materials such as graphite are used in the modern bows and arrows to get maximum output with minimum effort. The modern day archery products are manufactured from better and better material to counter the air resistance while shooting an arrow. Archery was reintroduced in the Munich Olympic games of 1972.

Bows are available in many variants including a short bow, a long bow, compound bow, and recurve bow. Similarly arrows too are manufactured from different materials like carbon fiber, wood, aluminum alloy, and fiberglass etc. Aluminum shafts are well-known for light weight, flat trajectory, and high speed. Wooden shafts are in danger of warping easily. But of late, carbon fiber has been the preferred materials for the modern day archers for its supreme performance when it comes to speed and the trajectory. Archery techniques have evolved over the years. Scientific techniques are gaining popularity among the modern day archers. Techniques are refined and fine tuned so that the archer is able to give his optimum performance. Modern archery techniques are quite different from the traditional ones. The archery equipment may change but the basic ingredients of an archer will always remain the same. Simply put, it is concentration of thought and sight on the target object and the coordination of the different body parts involved in the art of shooting the arrow.