Bow and arrow Bow and arrow The bow and arrow is a ranged weapon system consisting of an elastic launching device (bow) and long-shafted projectiles (arrows). "Archery" is the art, practice or skill of using bows to shoot arrows. A person who shoots arrows with a bow is called a "bowman" or an "archer". Someone who makes bows is known as a "bowyer", one who makes arrows is a "fletcher", and one who manufactures metal arrowheads is an "arrowsmith". The use of bows and arrows by humans for hunting predates recorded history and was common to many prehistoric cultures. They were important weapons
History of archery and arrows was maintained in isolated cultures with little or no contact with the outside world. The use of traditional archery in some African conflicts has been reported in the 21st century, and the Sentinelese still use bows as part of a lifestyle scarcely touched by outside contact. A remote group in Brazil, recently photographed from the air, aimed bows at the aeroplane. Bows and arrows saw considerable use in the 2007–2008 Kenyan crisis. The British initiated a major revival of archery as an upper-class pursuit from about 1780-1840. Early recreational archery societies included the Finsbury Archers and the Kilwinning