Archery His doctor, Saxton Pope, learned many of Ishi's traditional archery skills, and popularized them. From the 1920s, professional engineers took an interest in archery, previously the exclusive field of traditional craft experts. They led the commercial development of new forms of bow including the modern recurve and compound bow. These modern forms are now dominant in modern Western archery; traditional bows are in a minority. In the 1980s, the skills of traditional archery were revived by American enthusiasts, and combined with the new scientific understanding. Much of this expertise is available in the "Traditional Bowyer's Bibles" (see Further reading). Modern
Arab archery longbows. “Correct and effective use of the composite bow,” Bishop adds, “took a lifetime to master, so Eastern recruits were essential.” Arab archers used composite bows from foot, horse, and camel, to good effect from the 7th century. Muhammad was quite good with a bow, and appreciated the benefits of archery in sports and warfare. A recurved bow made of bamboo, and ascribed to Muhammad, is held in the Sacred Relics (Topkapı Palace) in the Chamber of the Sacred Relics in the Topkapi Museum in Istanbul. There are several comments by Mohammad concerning archery in the Hadith. Umm Salama told