It has been one of “mans chief activities for thousands of years “(Meltzer 1). War may have occurred because of food, land, and women. These were the main things man thought to be important to have in order to be a superior tribe. The search for adequate food became very important causing the creation of the club, spear, and the knife.

The Stone Age brought a wide range of primitive weapons to life. For instance,” the wooden club was the first true weapon made during the Old Stone Age” (2). Although a rather affective weapon, the club had its flaws. One was that in order for it to work, you had to be close up to your opponent. This was a major disadvantage to man if he were facing some kind of game animal such as a wooly mammoth. To gain a greater striking advantage, the spear was made for throwing, and the bow was made for shooting arrows.

“The earliest spears were wooden shafts that were sharpened by fire” (2). Arrows were made in a similar way except they were smaller

Knights were the most known class that ever used a weapon. They were trained in a variety of weapons including many ax like and concussive weapons. “In the Battle of Hastings, the Saxons defending England at first did well using their great two handed double bladed poleaxes against the Norman Troops of William the Conqueror; but the Norman invaders, with their fast moving cavalry and archers armed with crossbows, finally prevailed” (10). Knight used many versions of the ax throughout their time. The concussive weapon was often used to hit on the head which often stunned or killed the opponent. Clubs with iron spikes were used by knight to do immense damage to an enemy. They were called maces and could be made by driving nails into a club, and the cheap weapon became popular among peasants as well as knights in Europe. Another weapon was called the flail. “It was a shaft to which were attached to several whips made of chain, each ending with a studded ball. Swung by an expert, the flail could inflict serious injury” (Harding 18). “They were found wherever body armor has been used. Their weight and hardness, especially when focused into a spike, made them more effective against a full armored knight” (18). Even kings used maces. Ceremonial maces were specially made with many authentic designs for a king. They were carried as a symbol of power. The shield was another creation specially made for a fighting knight. They were first made of wood or animal hide. They were later made from bronze which absorbed a stronger blow than that of wood. “They were usually round with a riveted handle on the back” (14). It was later replaced by body armor worn by the best of knights. Armor was first made of thick animal skin that was layered over a soldier. It later moved on to thick but light steel. A full suit of armor often weighed close to eighty or ninety pounds. It was almost impossible to move around yet it was also impossible to penetrate easily.

The Bronze Age brought a whole new array of weapons to the battlefield. “Copper was the first non precious metal that man learned how to work” (5). Although copper was not effective for body armor or weapons, it was the combination of copper and tin that produced bronze, “the metal of Conquerors” (5). The Bronze Age, which was roughly between 2500-1000 B.C., introduced a new chapter in weaponry. It was able to be cast into any shaped using molds. This led to an easier way to make spearheads, arrow heads, and battle axes. The Iron Age helped already made weapons even stronger. “Iron was even stronger and harder than bronze” (6). It was much better for military needs. One of the most person weapons was the dagger. “It was much like a knife, and is found in almost all cultures” (6). Examples are the Gurkha kukri of Nepal, the Malayan kris, the Japanese tanto, and the Bornese kurong. The spear is one of the earliest and simplest of weapons. The primitive weapon was made of a wooden shaft tipped with a sharpened point. “The medieval lance and pike evolved from the ancient spear. The pike was a lon

Some topics in this essay:
Iron Age, Conqueror Norman, Spanish Armada, Greece Persia, Stone Age, Richard Gatling, Nepal Malayan, Bronze Age, Weapons Warfare, Stone Age”, body armor, machine gun, sword bearing class, spanish armada, stone age, age brought, wooden shaft, battle hastings, sword bearing, samurai swords, common bow,