Archers have played a key part in warfare and hunting for thousands of years. Primitive bows were made of a single piece of wood, but composite recurve bows were being manufactured from Greece to China as far back as the second millennium BC.
Recurve bows, those with the ends facing the ‘wrong way’ when unstrung, are more powerful inch for inch in length than one piece wooden bows, which made them more suited to cramped conditions such as on horseback, in a chariot or in woodlands.
Pieces of composite recurve bows, usually made from horn, have been found in many regions of the world. Early arrows were made from naturally straight twigs or pine needles with napped flint tips affixed. Wooden bows did not preserve so well and exemplars are rare.
It appears that archery was being developed in the early Mesolithic or late Paleolithic Age. Archery was particularly well developed in some Islamic countries and in Asia, where Zen Buddhist monks used archery as part of their meditation techniques.
In the early days of archery, there were miscellaneous feelings about archers. In those days, people battled hand to hand with swords and spears and some of the traditionalists thought that archers were cowards because they attacked from a distance out of direct danger. This point is made quite clear in ‘The Iliad’, Homer’s account to the siege of Troy.
There are or were many types of bows made to suit different fighting or hunting requirements. Some varieties of bow are the; long bow, short bow, recurve bow, composite recurve bow, reflex bow, decurve bow, deflex bow and crossbow among others.
The longbow was extremely hard to learn to use and the archer needed considerable upper-body strength. The bow was often six feet long with a weighty three foot long arrow. The draw weight for maximum power was around a hundred pounds and the use of the bow on a battlefield was as long-range artillery.
The heavy arrows and vicious armour-piercing arrow head would rain down on the enemy from a hundred yards or more and penetrate shields and armour as if they did not exist. Shot horizontally, the three-foot arrow could pass through a couple of people.
In fact, the longbow was so essential to the triumph of Great Britain that a law was passed making it compulsory for men over a particular age to practice with their longbows every Sunday on the village green in order to develop the required expertise and upper-body strength in case war came.
The arrows are made to suit the different types of bows and the different bows and their specific arrows are suited to different kinds of hunting – whether you are hunting men or animals.
There are basically two styles of shooting: instinctive shooting, which is very difficult as the archer does not take his eyes off the target, but does not look down the arrow; and sight shooting where the archer makes use of sights to align the arrow with its target. Most people find sight shooting easier.
Owen Jones, the writer of this piece writes on several subjects, but is currently involved with archery recurve bows. If you would like to know more or for special deals, please go to our website at Kids Archery Set.
Holidays And Holy Days
Congress and the president have designated ten days as federal holidays. Being ‘federal’, these holidays theoretically only pertain to federal employees and residents of the District of Columbia, although they are so widely observed that they can be thought of as national holidays.
Legally, it is up to each individual state to designate public holidays. If the holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the Friday before or the Monday following is given in lieu to make a long weekend.
New Year’s Day (January 1) – celebrating the New Year dates back to pre-Christian times, when rites were performed to attempt to ensure the return of Spring.
Martin Luther King Jnr. Day (third Monday in January) – before he was assassinated in 1968, Martin Luther King Jnr. was the principal civil rights leader in the 1950’s and 1960’s. He was given the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. Congress set this day aside to commemorate his life and achievements in 1983.
Washington’s Birthday (third Monday in February) – originally it was commemorated on Washington’s actual birthday, the 22nd of February, but it was moved in 1971 to make a long weekend. It is sometimes known as Presidents’ Day, because it is near Lincoln’s birthday on the 12th February.
Memorial Day (last Monday in May) – also called Decoration Day, it honours soldiers fallen in battle.It dates from the Civil War and is customarily marked by parades and services.
Independence Day (4th July) – this, the most significant US holiday, marks the 1776 signing of the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain. It was first celebrated in 1777 and is marked by fireworks, parades and speeches.
Labor Day (first Monday in September) – this, the suggestion of Peter J. McGuire, the president of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, was taken up in 1894 to celebrate American workers.
Columbus Day (second Monday in October) – Christopher Columbus and his crew landed in the Bahamas on Oct 12th 1492. It was first commemorated in 1792, although it was not officially adopted until 1909. It is a cause of special pride to Italian-Americans, who claim the Genoan voyager as their own.
Veterans Day (Nov 11th) – or Armistice Day commemorates the end of the First World War on Nov 11th 1918. It was made a legal holiday in 1938, but its name was changed in 1954 to honour all American veteran soldiers.
Thanksgiving Day (fourth Thursday in November) – it was first commemorated in Plymouth County, Massachusetts in 1621, the year in which the Pilgrims landed in the New World to give thanks for the new harvest and the new land they had colonized. President Lincoln proclaimed it a holiday in 1863.
Christmas Day (December 25th) – Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with Franklin Covey planner refillss If you have an interest in calendars, organizers or promotional calendars, please go over to our website now at Promotional Desk Calendars