It seems that the bow appeared in pre-history in several places. No one civilisation can lay claim to its invention, also the idea of using stored energy, for that is precisely what a bow does, was not developed by some advanced peoples, most notably the South American peoples such as the Inca's. The earliest identifiable Archery artifacts are in the order of 40,000 years old, which in my humble veiw places the bow amongst the most effective and destructive weapons ever invented, over thousands of years we have been using this simple weapon for hunting, war and recreation.