Long before
Both the bow and arrow are deemed to have been Archery Target Bags invented during the end of the Upper Paleolithic era. The projectile points on the other hand which are used in spears or darts are known to have dated back from earlier prehistory that is from the Middle Paleolithic. As time passes, the bows eventually overtook and replaced the spears as the predominant equipment when launching sharp projectiles in different continents except for Australia.
Before the rise of firearms, archery was considered as a very important hunting and military skill that has to be perfected and mastered by those in the profession. The popularity of archery spread throughout classical antiquity and also all throughout the medieval period. These arrows were especially damaging to people and structures that have nor armors on them. Most of the assassins during the medieval period were skilled archers. Archers during that time were dexterous and mobile. Across different cultures, archery has always been featured prominently in their mythologies.
The Stone Age and Bronze Age of archery
According to historians the bow may have been invented during the transition period from the Upper Paleolithic to the Mesolithic period which is roughly 10,000 years ago. The darts and spears are much older and according to researches, some early points coming from Africa could have been arrowheads that date back more than 10,000 years ago.
In Europe, the oldest indication that archery does exist in the continent several thousands of years ago is found in Stellmoor in a valley that is north of Hamburg, Germany. The equipments were associated with different artifacts coming from the Paleolithic period. The arrows that were unearthed were made from pine and had a mainshaft and a long foreshaft which is about 30 centimeters and also had a flint point. On its base, the arrows had shallow grooves which indicated that they were fired from a bow.
The oldest bows were known to have come from Denmark. In the 1940s, arrows that dated back to about 8,000BP were found in the country. The Holmegaard bows were made from elm and had flat arms with D-shape midsection. The center section of the bow is biconvex while the complete bow is around 5 feet long. The Holmegaard type of bow was predominantly used until the Bronze Age. Through time, the convexity of the midsection of the bow decreased.