Britannica Student Encyclopedia - 2010

experts from other fields of study. Botanists,

zoologists, and geologists can help

to identify plants, animals, soils, and

rocks found along with artifacts.

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Botany • Geology • Zoology

Archaeopteryx

A prehistoric bird, Archaeopteryx is best

described as a feathered dinosaur with

wings. Archaeopteryx is considered proof

that birds developed from dinosaurs,

because it had the traits of both.

When and Where

Archaeopteryx Lived

Archaeopteryx lived about 159 to 144

million years ago. All known Archaeopteryx

remains have been found in southern

Germany.

Physical Features

Archaeopteryx reached 2 feet (60 centimeters)

in length and had a wingspan of

2 feet (60 centimeters). It had wing

feathers like those of modern pigeons.

Archaeopteryx also shared several features

with a group of small, meat-eating dinosaurs,

however. It had well-developed

teeth and a long, slender and flexible

neck. It had long leg and foot bones,

and it had claws on its hands.

Behavior

Some scientists believe that Archaeopteryx

took off by running along the

ground and leaping into the air, flapping

its wings. However, other experts believe

that Archaeopteryx most likely spent a lot

of time perched in low-growing trees.

The animal could simply launch itself

from atop the branches and glide out on

short flights. When it was not in the

A team of archaeologists works

on a “dig,” or excavation, in

Peru.

Archaeopteryx

164 Archaeopteryx BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

 

trees it is possible that Archaeopteryx

swam and fished in the lagoons surrounding

the islands on which it lived.

Archaeopteryx, like both dinosaurs and

modern birds, reproduced by laying

eggs.

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Bird • Dinosaur

Archery

The sport of shooting arrows with a bow

at a target is called archery. But archery

is not just a sport. For thousands of

years people used the skills of archery

mostly for war and for hunting. Even

today bow hunting is a popular activity.

Bows and Arrows

Bows allow people to shoot arrows farther

and with greater force than is possible

by simply throwing them. At its

most basic, a bow is a long, thin piece of

wood with a string stretched tightly

from one end to the other. The string

holds the wood in a curved position.

People competing in archery contests

today often use more complex bows

made of wood, plastic, or fiberglass.

An arrow is a long, thin piece of wood,

metal, or other material. It ends in a

pointed tip. Near the other end of the

arrow is a tail of feathers or plastic fins.

The tail helps the arrow fly straight.

The tail end of the arrow fits onto the

string of the bow. To shoot the arrow, an

archer pulls the string back and lets it

go. A lot of energy is stored up by the

string being stretched. When the string

is released, this energy is also released.

This sends the arrow flying with great

force.

Archery Competitions

There are many kinds of archery events.

In most kinds the archers shoot arrows

at round targets. Each target is marked

with a circle surrounded by several rings.

Archers earn a set number of points for

hitting the various areas on the target

with their arrows. They earn the most

points for hitting the circle in the center

and the least points for hitting the outer

ring.

The most common types of archery

used in contests are target archery and

field archery. In target archery archers

shoot a set number of arrows at targets

at set distances. For example, an archer

Modern archers shoot at targets up to 295

feet (90 meters) away.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Archery 165

 

may have to shoot 18 arrows at a target

that is 230 feet (70 meters) away. In

field archery the archer shoots arrows at

several targets on a course set up to imitate

hunting conditions.

World championships are held regularly

in target, field, and other kinds of

archery. The Summer Olympic Games

feature target archery events for men

and women, individually and in teams.

History

In prehistoric and ancient times many

peoples in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the

Americas made bows and arrows. The

bow was one of the main weapons of

war and hunting. The ancient Egyptians,

Greeks, and Chinese also practiced

archery as a sport.

The Huns, the Turks, the Mongols, and

other groups used the bow and arrow for

warfare while riding on horseback. Their

skills as archers helped them conquer

large parts of Asia.

English soldiers began using a large bow

called the longbow in the 1300s. It

helped them win great military victories

against France. The leading bow in other

parts of Europe at the time was the

crossbow. It was a small, powerful bow

attached crosswise to a piece of wood. It

had a groove to guide the arrow across

the wood and a lever to pull and release

the string.

In Europe guns replaced the bow and

arrow as the major military weapon in

the 1500s. Today soldiers in most parts

of the world use firearms. However,

many people still use a bow and arrow

to hunt. Archery has also grown popular

as a sport. In the 1900s archery became

an Olympic event.

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Olympic Games •War •Weapon

Hundreds of years ago warriors used bows and arrows to fight battles.

166 Archery BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA