History of archery

Archery, or the use of bow and arrows, was probably developed in Africa by the later Middle Stone Age (approx. 70,000 years ago). It is documented as part of warfare and hunting from the classical period (where it figures in the mythologies of many cultures) until the end of the 19th century, when it was made obsolete by the invention and spread of repeating firearms. Archers were a widespread if supplemental part of the military in the classical period, and bowmen fought on foot, in chariots or mounted on horses. Archery rose to prominence in Europe in the later medieval period, where victories such as the Battle of Agincourt cemented the longbow in military lore. Archery in both hunting and warfare was eventually replaced by firearms in Europe in the Late Middle Ages and early modern period. Firearms eventually diffused throughout Eurasia via the Gunpowder empires, gradually reducing the importance of archery in warfare throughout the world. Archery is still practiced today, for hunting and as a target sport. The oldest known evidence of arrows comes from South African sites such as Sibudu Cave, where likely arrowheads have been found, dating from approximately 72,000–60,000 years ago, on some of which poisons may have been used. Small stone points from the Grotte Mandrin in Southern France, used some 54,000 years ago, have damage from use that indicates their use as projectile weapons, and some are too small (less than 10mm across as the base) for any practical use other than as arrowheads. They are associated with possibly the first groups of modern humans to leave Africa. Likely arrowheads were reported in 2020 from Fa Hien Cave in Sri Lanka, dated to 48,000 years ago. "Bow-and-arrow hunting at the Sri Lankan site likely focused on monkeys and smaller animals, such as squirrels... Remains of these creatures were found in the same sediment as the bone points." At the site of Nataruk in Turkana County, Kenya, obsidian bladelets found embedded in a human skull and within the thoracic cavity of another human skeleton, suggest the use of stone-tipped arrows as weapons about 10,000 years ago.