ARCHEAN SYSTEM 



ARCHEAN, ahrh 'an. SYSTEM. Tin- won! 

 archcan means r- -t, and the term 



Arc :i to the rock formations 



of the oldest period of geologic time. The 



rle GEOLOGY (which sec) tells the story of 

 the formation of the earth. In this account, 



:<>pic time, which is thousands upon thou- 

 sands of years old, is divided into eras and 

 periods; the Archeozoic is the first era. and its 

 m of rocks is the Archean. The rocks of 

 this system extend down to unknown depths, 

 for they constitute the first series laid down in 

 geologic history. They include igneous rock 

 for the most part, such as granite, basalt and 

 gneiss (see IGNEOUS ROCKS), but there are also 

 deposits of sedimentary rocks, such as black 

 carbon-bearing slates and limestones. These 

 latter indicate the presence of life in that 

 remote era, for such rocks are formed through 

 the agency of plants and animals. There are, 

 however, no fossils of any kind, and so geolo- 



B have no means of knowing what sort of 

 life exist (M! when the earth was in its infancy. 



The Archean System underlies practically the 

 whole surface of the globe. In North America 

 an area of Archean rock occupies nearly the 

 whole of the peninsula of Labrador, and 

 stretches from that region in a southwesterly 

 direction to the Great Lakes, thence north- 



erly to the Arctic Ocean. There are other 

 important areas in the eastern part of the 

 United States and in the Rocky Mountains. 

 In Europe Archean formations are prominent 

 in the Scandinavian Peninsula, France, Ger- 

 many and Spain, and there are similar forma- 

 tions in India, Northern China, Australia and 

 New Zealand. 



320 ARCHERY 



on which it feeds. It is said that it is 

 able to shoot drops of water at insects a dis- 

 tance of three or four feet, and to bring them 

 in this way into the water within its reach. 

 The archer-fish is about six inches long, and is 

 found in the seas around the East Indi- 



ARCHERY, ar'chcri. practised in ancient 

 times by the hunter and the warrior, is at the 

 present time a healthful outdoor sport. The 

 weapons of the archer are the bow and arrow. 

 The history of archery is as old as the story 



ARCHER FISH 



ARCHER-FISH, a fish which gets its name 

 from the peculiar way in which it catches the 



ARCHERY 



The target of the best type is made of cork, 

 with cloth covering. The latter may be fre- 

 quently renewed. 



of mankind. One of the earliest Bible narra- 

 tives is that of Ishmael, who "dwelt in the 

 wilderness of Paran and became an archer" 

 (Genesis, XXI, 20). The Egyptians, Persians, 

 Assyrians, and Parthians were all highly skilled 

 in the use of the bow and arrow, the Parthians 

 being the most celebrated horse-archers of 

 ancient times. Among European peoples none 

 excelled the English in archery, and stories of 

 the bow and arrow are numerous in their his- 

 tory, their legends and their songs. It is told 

 that the Norman archers of William the Con- 

 queror broke up the ranks of the English at 

 the Battle of Hastings, by shooting upward 

 showers of arrows that fell upon the faces of 

 their enemy; but later the skill of the English 

 'archers won on French soil the famous victories 

 of the Hundred Years' War Crecy, Poitiers 

 and Agincourt. When men put aside the bow 

 and arrow for the gun, archery disappeared 

 from the battlefield, and at the present time 

 only savage races use the archer's weapons in 

 hunting or warfare. 



Archery is now a popular and fashionable 

 sport in England, Canada and the United 



