How The Ancients Improved Their Lives With Archery
An old art can teach us wisdom today.
Archery is universal. It’s been practiced around the world from ancient Greece to Japan. Just about anywhere you travel throughout the globe, most ancient cultures learned the practicality of the bow. Obviously, it’s an excellent way to kill and hunt. It takes one away from danger and uses leverage and range.
According to archeologist Luvsannorov Munkh, the bow can be made of the simplest materials, like wood and sinew from animals. However, a complex Mongolian composite bow could take years to make, be fired accurately on horseback, and have a range of 500 meters. Although some might call it a simple tool, Munkh explains the Mongols worked on their bow design for 3,000 years.
But the bow isn’t just a tool or weapon; it’s beyond this. Archery is an artform that requires training and skill over endless years. This life-long skill could very well be the difference between life and death. As a result, the ability to use a bow gained an important place in most societies for a reason.
As can be imagined, an art this important took on an ethereal quality. The lessons learned training with the bow became part of philosophy for countless cultures — it was inevitable. Beyond being a tool, the bow would be used to teach humanity…
