Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="HeavenShallBurn" data-source="post: 4147791" data-attributes="member: 39593">Let me reinforce thisThroughout history and even prehistory the spear has actually been the preeminent weapon of muscle-powered cultures.  The sword was as much status symbol as weapon, axes have their own drawbacks.  But the *pointy stick* has been killing people for a long time.  Just ask the ~450000 year old hardened wood spear kept in a vault in a German museum, it's the oldest weapon ever discovered and traces of hominid blood are still embedded in the point.The Greeks used spears primarily, even in single combat.  Their swords were more a backup for when the spear broke.  And bronze spears break a lot, then again so do bronze swords and bronze armor.  The Vikings were primarily armed with the spear, as were the early legions of the Roman Republic, every force in the classical empires that actually was armed, most all of the nomadic horse peoples.  In short wherever you find humans you find the pointy stick, it's been our friend longer than dogs.  They just have too many advantages over other weapons for it to be any other way.Before the invention of the stirrup spears were NOT used on horseback the way seen in medieval jousting.  Instead they were held high over the head with the point downward so that the rider could put the weight of his upper body behind the thrust without knocking himself off his horse.  Only after stirrups did you see the low positioning, as before it would have been certain to unhorse the user.</blockquote>

Verification