Jebel Sahaba ( Arabic : جَبَل ٱلصَّحَابَة , romanized : Jabal Aṣ-Ṣaḥābah , lit. 'Mountain of the Companions'; also Site 117) is a prehistoric cemetery site in the Nile Valley (now submerged in Lake Nasser ), near the northern border of Sudan with Egypt in Northeast Africa . It is associated with the Qadan culture . It was discovered in 1964 by a team led by Fred Wendorf .
119-570: Since their discovery, the skeletons of Jebel Sahaba have been continuously re-evaluated by anthropologists seeking to determine the circumstances of their death. As of the most recent study (2021), it seems most likely that the war (dating to c. 12th millennium BC) was driven by resource scarcity due to climate change. Tribes of the Qadan culture partook in a series of raids and ambushes against one another with projectile weapons - mostly light arrows, but also much heavier arrows or throwing spears. The site
238-546: A 2021 study stated that "major climatic and environmental changes" remained the most probable explanation. Initially in 1988, the violence was dated to 14,979-18,568 BP (i.e. 13,029-16,618 BC). This dating was based on bone collagen from a specific skeleton named JS 43. In the late 2010s, numerous authors rejected this date due to poor collagen preservation. A 2021 article assessed that the violence may date anywhere between 13,400 and 18,600 BP (i.e. 11,450 and 16,650 BC), though 13,362-13,727 BP (i.e. 11,412-11,777 BC) appeared to be
357-452: A 30 cm (1 ft) shaft and a larger, broader blade one foot (0.3m) long. This weapon is otherwise known as the iklwa or ixwa , after the sound that was heard as it was withdrawn from the victim's wound. The traditional spear was not abandoned, but was used to range attack enemy formations before closing in for close quarters battle with the iklwa. This tactical combination originated during Shaka's military reforms . This weapon
476-766: A circular schiltron on the first day of the Battle of Bannockburn . However, the rectangular schiltron was much more common and was used by King Robert the Bruce on the second day of the Battle of Bannockburn and in the Battle of Old Byland when he defeated English armies. Throwing spears became rarer as the Middle Ages drew on, but survived in the hands of specialists such as the Catalan Almogavars . They were commonly used in Ireland until
595-548: A clear difference remained between spears designed to be thrown and those designed to be used in hand-to-hand combat. By the Magdalenian period (c. 15,000–9500 BC), spear-throwers similar to the later atlatl were in use. The spear is the main weapon of the warriors of Homer 's Iliad . The use of both a single thrusting spear and two throwing spears are mentioned. It has been suggested that two styles of combat are being described; an early style, with thrusting spears, dating to
714-635: A defensive block. When men on horses tried to get by these blocks, they would often be killed by the spears that could poke through the shield walls. Spears became more common than swords and axes because of how cheap, long, and fast spears were made. Broadly speaking, spears were either designed to be used in melee, or to be thrown. Within this simple classification, there was a remarkable range of types. For example, M. J. Swanton identified thirty different spearhead categories and sub-categories in early Saxon England. Most medieval spearheads were generally leaf-shaped. Notable types of early medieval spears include
833-763: A direct consequence of the sedentism as it developed in the wake of the Neolithic Revolution . An important example is the massacre of Talheim Death Pit (near Heilbronn , Germany ), dated right on the cusp of the beginning European Neolithic, at 5500 BC. Investigation of the Neolithic skeletons found in the Talheim Death pit in Germany suggests that prehistoric men from neighboring tribes were prepared to brutally fight and kill each other in order to capture and secure women . Researchers discovered that there were women among
952-541: A head made from metal. These heads may either be single-edged, double-edged or barbed. Styles vary according to function and origin. For example, a sibat designed for fishing may not be the same as those used for hunting. The spear was used as the primary weapon in expeditions and battles against neighbouring island kingdoms and it became famous during the 1521 Battle of Mactan , where the chieftain Lapu Lapu of Cebu fought against Spanish forces led by Ferdinand Magellan who
1071-414: A hunter to dress as a buffalo and lure one into a ravine where other hunters were hiding. Once the buffalo appeared, the other hunters would kill him with spears. A variation of this technique, called the buffalo jump , was when a runner would lead the animals towards a cliff. As the buffalo got close to the cliff, other members of the tribe would jump out from behind rocks or trees and scare the buffalo over
1190-452: A melee weapon (including weapons such as lances and pikes ) and those designed for throwing as a ranged weapon (usually referred to as javelins ). The spear has been used throughout human history as a weapon for hunting and/or fishing and for warfare. Along with the club , knife , and axe , it is one of the earliest and most widespread tools ever developed by early humans. As a weapon, it may be wielded with either one or two hands. It
1309-422: A number of taboos and practices that limit the number of casualties and the duration of the conflict. This type of situation is known as endemic warfare . Among tribal societies engaging in endemic warfare, conflict may escalate to actual warfare occasionally for reasons such as conflict over resources or for no readily understandable reason. Warfare is known to every tribal society, but some societies developed
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#17328379814311428-777: A particular emphasis on the formation of a warrior culture (such as the Nuer of South Sudan , the Māori of New Zealand , the Dugum Dani of Papua , the Yanomami (dubbed "the Fierce People") of the Amazon. The culture of inter-tribal warfare has long been present in New Guinea . Spear A spear is a polearm consisting of a shaft, usually of wood , with a pointed head. The head may be simply
1547-585: A prehistoric Paleoamerican man, and Ötzi , who lived and died in the European Alps some 5,200 years ago, were probably killed in warfare. Warfare in pre-Columbian North America has served as an important comparandum in the archaeological study of the indirect evidence for warfare in the Neolithic. A notable example is the massacre at the Crow Creek Site in South Dakota (14th century). The onset of
1666-472: A prehistoric massacre is at the site of Jebel Sahaba , committed against a population associated with the Qadan culture of far northern Sudan . The cemetery contains a large number of skeletons that are approximately 13,000 to 14,000 years old, with 24 out of 59 skeletons presenting arrowheads embedded in their skeletons, which indicates that they might have been the casualties of warfare. It has been noted that
1785-575: A primatologist and professor of anthropology at the University of Southern California , has suggested that the discovery of spear use by chimpanzees means that early humans may have used wooden spears before this. From circa 200,000 BC onwards, Middle Paleolithic humans began to make complex stone blades with flaked edges which were used as spear heads. These stone heads could be fixed to the spear shaft by gum or resin or by bindings made of animal sinew, leather strips or vegetable matter. During this period,
1904-527: A revival in the 1930s. Spear hunting is still practiced in the United States. Animals taken are primarily wild boar and deer , although trophy animals as large as Cape Buffalo have been hunted with spears. Alligators are hunted in Florida with a type of harpoon . One of the gymnastic exercises performed by the ancient Greeks was the throwing of a spear, referred to as ἀκυντισμός. Like many weapons,
2023-451: A revolutionizing cut-and-thrust weapon, and javelins . Such new weaponry, in the hands of large numbers of "running skirmishers", who could swarm and cut down a chariot army, would destabilize states that were based upon the use of chariots by the ruling class. That would precipitate an abrupt social collapse as raiders began to conquer, loot and burn cities. The Bronze Age in China traverses
2142-419: A similar site was discovered at Schöneck-Kilianstädten, with the remains of the victims showing "a pattern of intentional mutilation". While the presence of such massacre sites in the context of Early Neolithic Europe is undisputed, diverging definitions of "warfare proper" (i.e. planned campaigns sanctioned by society as opposed to spontaneous massacres) has led to scholarly debate on the existence of warfare in
2261-497: A simple hasta and, perhaps, javelins or darts. During the 3rd century AD, although the pilum continued to be used, legionaries usually were equipped with other forms of throwing and thrusting spear, similar to auxilia of the previous century. By the 4th century, the pilum had effectively disappeared from common use. In the late period of the Roman Empire, the spear became more often used because of its anti-cavalry capacities as
2380-557: A spear that was called an az-zaġāyah . Berbers pronounced it zaġāya , but the English term, derived from the Old French via Berber , is " assegai ". It is a polearm used for throwing or hurling, usually a light spear or javelin made of hard wood and pointed with a forged iron tip. The az-zaġāyah played an important role during the Islamic conquest as well as during later periods, well into
2499-492: A sword, it remained the main weapon of the common soldier. The Vikings , for instance, although often portrayed with an axe , sword , or lance in hand, were armed mostly with spears, as were their Anglo-Saxon , Irish , or continental contemporaries. Spears eventually evolved into lances; this is where the lance depiction comes from. With a good majority of Medieval weapons being spears they became integrated into many war tactics. Spears were very commonly used while providing
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#17328379814312618-456: A target's shield. Originally the principes were armed with a short spear called a hasta , but these gradually fell out of use, eventually being replaced by the gladius. The third line, the triarii , continued to use the hasta . From the late 2nd century BC, all legionaries were equipped with the pilum . The pilum continued to be the standard legionary spear until the end of the 2nd century AD. Auxilia , however, were equipped with
2737-623: A variety of materials such as the sang made completely of steel, and the ballam which had a bamboo shaft. The Arab presence in Sindh and the Mameluks of Delhi introduced the Middle Eastern javelin into India. The Rajputs wielded a type of spear for infantrymen which had a club integrated into the spearhead, and a pointed butt end. Other spears had forked blades, several spear-points, and numerous other innovations. One particular spear unique to India
2856-419: Is also present at the end of the trajectory. The second drag is located about one centimeter below the proximal one, and oriented slightly more anteriorly, with a bisecting pattern at the end of the marks. Based on these cutmark characteristics, the projectile most probably arrived from the medial side of the femoral diaphysis, in a downwards motion and towards the lateral side. The second case, JS 31, focuses on
2975-430: Is also present on the right parietal and on the occipital. The frontal and occipital perforation exhibit internal bevelling consistent with projectile impacts. A further set of marks is visible on the left femur, including two groups of drags on the antero-lateral border of the proximal part of the diaphysis. The first group has two subparallel incisions with wide flat floors marked with parallel microstriations. Bone flaking
3094-647: Is due to differences in archaeology resulting in less evidence being likely to survive to be analysed compared to other eras. Since Paleolithic humans lived in small, mobile bands, with low population densities and less durable structures, while also existing further back in history, this results in a lower probability of finding clear evidence as well as that evidence not decaying by the modern day. Furthermore, humans only began to bury their dead 150,000 years ago and not all cultures did so (some preferring to remove them by cremation or exposure), limiting remains that can be found. The absence of fortifications could also be due to
3213-485: Is found in Les Dogue, Ares del Maestrat , Castellón, Valencia. At Val del Charco del Agua Amarga, Alcañiz , Aragon, seven archers with plumes on their heads are fleeing a group of eight archers running in pursuit. Early war was influenced by the development of bows , maces , and slings . The bow seems to have been the most important weapon in early warfare, in that it enabled attacks to be launched with far less risk to
3332-493: Is longer than a Qiang , others say that the main difference is between the stiffness of the shaft, where the Qiang would be flexible and the Mao would be stiff. Scholars seem to lean toward the latter explanation more than the former. Because of the difference in the construction of the Mao and the Qiang , the usage is also different, though there is no definitive answer as to what exactly
3451-415: Is no clear consensus as to what caused their extinction within the current scientific community. Kelly believes that this period of "Paleolithic warlessness" persisted until well after the appearance of Homo sapiens some 315,000 years ago, ending only at the occurrence of economic and social shifts associated with sedentism , when new conditions incentivized organized raiding of settlements. None of
3570-566: Is often cited as the oldest known evidence of warfare or systemic intergroup violence, although as of 2021 the earliest documented evidence of interpersonal violence appears to be the partial remains of a skeleton in Wadi Kubbaniya from 20 ka (i.e. 19th-18th millennium BC). Initially, Jebel Seheba was believed to be the site of a singular battle. However re-examination of the remains has superseded this thesis as of 2021. The co-occurrence of healed and unhealed lesions among 41 individuals (67.2%)
3689-453: Is still being used by certain wandering Sufi ascetics ( Derwishes ) . In the Chinese martial arts , the Chinese spear ( Qiang 槍) is popularly known as the "king of weapons". The spear is listed in the group of the four major weapons (along with the gun ( staff ), dao (a single-edged blade similar to a sabre ), and the jian ( sword )). Spears were used first as hunting weapons amongst
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3808-549: The angon , a throwing spear with a long head similar to the Roman pilum , used by the Franks and Anglo-Saxons, and the winged (or lugged) spear , which had two prominent wings at the base of the spearhead, either to prevent the spear penetrating too far into an enemy or to aid in spear fencing. Originally a Frankish weapon, the winged spear also was popular with the Vikings. It would become
3927-558: The Ba Shu area. In the Han dynasty the Mao and the Ji (戟 Ji can be loosely defined as a halberd) rose to prominence in the military. Interesting to note is that the amount of iron Mao-heads found exceeds the number of bronze heads. By the end of the Han dynasty ( Eastern Han ) the process of replacement of the iron Mao had been completed and the bronze Mao had been rendered completely obsolete. After
4046-652: The British Museum in 2001; the collection arrived at the museum in March 2002. This collection includes skeletal and fauna remains, lithics, pottery, and environmental samples as well as the full archive of Wendorf's notes, slides, and other material during the dig. Three cases (those of JS 13 and 14 together, 31, and 44) best illustrate the complexity and range of lesions found in the Jebel Sahaba individuals regardless of their age-at-death, sex or burial. The first case concerns
4165-454: The Chalcolithic (Copper Age) saw the introduction of copper weapons. Organised warfare between early city states was in existence by the mid-5th millennium BC. Excavations at Mersin , Anatolia show the presence of fortifications and soldiers' quarters by 4300 BC. Excavation work undertaken in 2005 and 2006 has shown that Hamoukar was destroyed by warfare by around 3500 BC-—probably
4284-633: The Hittite Empire ruled much of Anatolia. Chariots appear in the 20th century BC, and become central to warfare in the Ancient Near East from the 17th century BC. The Hyksos and Kassite invasions mark the transition to the Late Bronze Age. Ahmose I defeated the Hyksos and re-established Egyptian control of Nubia and Canaan , territories again defended by Ramesses II at the Battle of Kadesh ,
4403-645: The Mycenaean period in which the Iliad is set, and, anachronistically, a later style, with throwing spears, from Homer's own Archaic period. In the 7th century BC, the Greeks evolved a new close-order infantry formation, the phalanx . The key to this formation was the hoplite , who was equipped with a large, circular, bronze-faced shield ( aspis ) and a 210–270 cm (7–9 ft) spear with an iron head and bronze butt-spike ( doru ). The hoplite phalanx dominated warfare among
4522-464: The Qiang in four categories: "一曰漆枪， 二曰木枪， 三曰白杆枪， 四曰扑头枪。” Roughly translated the four categories are: Qi (a kind of wood) Spears, Wooden Spears, Bai Gan (A kind of wood) Spears and Pu Tou Qiang. The Qiang that were produced in the Song and Ming dynasties consisted of four major parts: Spearhead, Shaft, End Spike and Tassel. The types of Qiang that exist are many. Among the types there are cavalry Qiang that were
4641-479: The Quaternary extinction event was that most of these animals were hunted to extinction by humans with spears. Even after the invention of other hunting weapons such as the bow and sling , the spear continued to be used, either as a projectile weapon or used by hand, such as in bear hunting and boar hunting . Spear hunting fell out of favor in most of Europe in the 18th century, but continued in Germany, enjoying
4760-577: The San population, 19th century West Africa fossils, 19th and 20th century Pygmy fossils, and mid-20th century fossils culled from Kenya and Uganda in East Africa ). However, the Jebel Sahaba specimens were post-cranially distinct from the Iberomaurusians and other coeval series from North Africa , and they were also morphologically remote from later Nubian skeletal series and from fossils belonging to
4879-555: The pollaxe were adopted by knights and this practice ceased. The development of both the long, two-handed pike and gunpowder firearms in Renaissance Europe saw an ever-increasing focus on integrated infantry tactics. Those infantry not armed with these weapons carried variations on the polearm, including the halberd and the bill . At the start of the Renaissance, cavalry remained predominantly lance-armed; gendarmes with
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4998-552: The razakars of Nizams of Hyderabad State as late as the second half of the 20th century. The hoko spear was used in ancient Japan sometime between the Yayoi period and the Heian period , but it became unpopular as early samurai often acted as horseback archers . Medieval Japan employed spears again for infantrymen to use, but it was not until the 11th century in that samurai began to prefer spears over bows. Several polearms were used in
5117-484: The 12th century BC, between c. 1200 and 1150. It was sudden, violent, and culturally disruptive for many Bronze Age civilizations, and it brought a sharp economic decline to regional powers, notably ushering in the Greek Dark Ages . Historian Robert Drews argues for the appearance of massed infantry , using newly developed weapons and armour, such as cast rather than forged spearheads and long swords ,
5236-608: The 20th century. A longer pole az-zaġāyah was being used as a hunting weapon from horseback. The az-zaġāyah was widely used. It existed in various forms in areas stretching from Southern Africa to the Indian subcontinent , although these places already had their own variants of the spear. This javelin was the weapon of choice during the Fulani jihad as well as during the Mahdist War in Sudan. It
5355-546: The Aztecs preferred the sword-like macuahuitl clubs for fighting, the advantage of a far-reaching thrusting weapon was recognised, and a large portion of the army would carry the tepoztopilli into battle. The tepoztopilli was a polearm, and to judge from depictions in various Aztec codices, it was roughly the height of a man, with a broad wooden head about twice the length of the users' palm or shorter, edged with razor-sharp obsidian blades which were deeply set in grooves carved into
5474-497: The British Museum. Judd's preliminary osteological analysis noted discrepancies between field notes, photographs and associated skeletal remains, including the absence of three individuals, JS 1, JS 3 and JS 30. Not part of the British Museum donation, their whereabouts remains uncertain. Prehistoric warfare Prehistoric warfare refers to war that occurred between societies without recorded history . The existence—and
5593-581: The Greek City States from the 7th into the 4th century BC. The 4th century saw major changes. One was the greater use of peltasts , light infantry armed with spear and javelins. The other was the development of the sarissa , a two-handed pike 550 cm (18 ft) in length, by the Macedonians under Phillip of Macedon and Alexander the Great . The pike phalanx, supported by peltasts and cavalry, became
5712-588: The Han dynasty toward the Sui and Tang dynasties the Mao used by cavalry were fitted with much longer shafts, as is mentioned above. During this era, the use of the Shuo (矟) was widespread among the footmen. The Shuo can be likened to a pike or simply a long spear. After the Tang dynasty, the popularity of the Mao declined and was replaced by the Qiang (枪). The Tang dynasty divided
5831-594: The Japanese theatres; the naginata was a glaive-like weapon with a long, curved blade popularly among the samurai and the Buddhist warrior-monks , often used against cavalry; the yari was a longer polearm, with a straight-bladed spearhead, which became the weapon of choice of both the samurai and the ashigaru (footmen) during the Warring States Era ; the horseback samurai used shorter yari for his single-armed combat; on
5950-408: The Jebel Sahaba fossils found that they shared osteological affinities with a hominid series from Wadi Halfa in Sudan. Additionally, comparison of the limb proportions of the Jebel Sahaba skeletal remains with those of various ancient and recent series indicated that they were most similar in body shape to the examined modern populations from Sub-Saharan Africa (viz. 19th century fossils belonging to
6069-635: The Late Mesolithic to Early Neolithic period in Europe. Iberian cave art of the Mesolithic shows explicit scenes of battle between groups of archers. A group of three archers encircled by a group of four is found in Cova del Roure, Morella la Vella , Castellón , Valencia. A depiction of a larger battle (which may, however, date to the early Neolithic), in which eleven archers are attacked by seventeen running archers,
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#17328379814316188-618: The Mesolithic Natufian culture of the Levant. Overall, Jebel Sahaba had a morphology associated with heat adaptation , shared with other Africans. In contrast, the paleolithic Iberomaurusian and Natufian remains were showing traits for cold adaptation, and plotting with Europe and Circumpolar regions. The skeletal remains and any other artifacts recovered by the UNESCO High Dam Salvage Project were donated by Wendorf to
6307-467: The Origin of War . For the purposes of this article, "prehistoric war" will be broadly defined as a state of organized lethal aggression between autonomous preliterate communities. According to cultural anthropologist and ethnographer Raymond C. Kelly , population density among the earliest hunter-gatherer societies of Homo erectus was probably low enough to avoid armed conflict. The development of
6426-524: The Scots and the Flemish. Spears usually were used in tightly ordered formations, such as the shield wall or the schiltron . To resist cavalry, spear shafts could be planted against the ground. William Wallace drew up his schiltrons in a circle at the Battle of Falkirk in 1298 to deter charging cavalry; this was a widespread tactic sometimes known as the "crown" formation. Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray used
6545-403: The ancestor of later medieval polearms, such as the partisan and spetum . The thrusting spear also has the advantage of reach, being considerably longer than other weapon types. Exact spear lengths are hard to deduce as few spear shafts survive archaeologically, but 180–240 cm (6–8 ft) would seem to have been the average length. Some nations were noted for their long spears, including
6664-753: The ancient Chinese. They became popular as infantry weapons during the Warring States and Qin era, when spearmen were used as especially highly disciplined soldiers in organized group attacks. When used in formation fighting, spearmen would line up their large rectangular or circular shields in a shieldwall manner. The Qin also employed long spears (more akin to a pike) in formations similar to Swiss pikemen in order to ward off cavalry. The Han Empire would use similar tactics as its Qin predecessors. Halberds, polearms, and dagger axes were also common weapons during this time. Spears were also common weaponry for Warring States, Qin, and Han era cavalry units. During these eras,
6783-441: The anterior side at midshaft. Three previously unidentified embedded lithic chips were found trapped in the healing bulge of the latter. The third case, JS 44, are the remains of a possible female that appears to have been older than 30 years. Twenty-one lithic artefacts were found in close association with the skeleton, one of which was embedded in the fourth rib. Wendorf also noted two examples of chip and/or flake alignments during
6902-402: The attacker when compared to the risk involved in melee combat. While there are no cave paintings of battles between men armed with clubs, the development of the bow is concurrent with the first known depictions of organized warfare consisting of clear illustrations of two or more groups of men attacking each other. These figures are arrayed in lines and columns with a distinctly garbed leader at
7021-515: The barbarian invasions were often conducted by people with a developed culture of cavalry in warfare. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the spear and shield continued to be used by nearly all Western European cultures. Since a medieval spear required only a small amount of steel along the sharpened edges (most of the spear-tip was wrought iron), it was an economical weapon. Quick to manufacture, and needing less smithing skill than
7140-410: The battlefield. Its last flowering was the half-pike or spontoon , a shortened version of the pike carried by officers of various ranks. While originally a weapon, this came to be seen more as a badge of office, or leading staff by which troops were directed. The half-pike, sometimes known as a boarding pike, was also used as a weapon on board ships until the late 19th century. Muslim warriors used
7259-454: The best estimate based on dentine dating. The individuals at Jebel Seheba have been associated with the Qadan culture , due to the presence of Qadan artefacts nearby the skeletal remains. However, a 2021 study treats a possible connection with caution, due to the position of the artefacts, and as other cultural entities were present in Lower Nubia. The projectile nature of at least half of
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#17328379814317378-414: The blade of the spearhead near the socket, these holes were presumably used to attach tassels, much like modern day wushu spears. In the early Shang , the Mao appeared to have a relatively short shaft as well as a relatively narrow shaft as opposed to Mao in the later Shang and Western Zhou period. Some Mao from this era are heavily decorated as is evidenced by a Warring States period Mao from
7497-770: The bodies at Nataruk were not interred, but were preserved in the positions the individuals had died at the edge of a lagoon. However, evidence of blunt-force cranial trauma and lack of interment have been called into question, casting doubt upon the assertion that the site represents early intragroup violence. The oldest rock art depicting acts of violence between hunter-gatherers in Northern Australia has been tentatively dated to 10,000 years ago. The earliest, limited evidence for war in Mesolithic Europe likewise dates to ca. 10,000 years ago, and episodes of warfare appear to remain "localized and temporarily restricted" during
7616-425: The bone surface on the anterior part of the left scapula and a deep V-shaped drag (2 cm long) on the posterior-medial side of the humerus. JS 31 also has a healed fracture of the distal extremity of the right first metacarpal. Finally, the right femur offers further evidence of healed lesions, with the presence of a bone callus on the lateral side of the proximal part of the shaft and of a healed projectile wound on
7735-425: The calvaria and none had previously been documented. The frontal bone exhibits a blunt force trauma at the level of the glabella. Several drag marks and an oblong perforation are also present on the left side of the frontal squama, as well as scraping drag marks close to bregma. Both a puncture site with faulting and part of an embedded artifact are visible approximately one centimeter above the left orbit. A perforation
7854-722: The cemetery was the UNESCO High Dam Salvage Project. This salvage dig project was a direct response to the raising of the Aswan Dam which stood to destroy or damage many sites along its path. Three cemeteries are present in this area. Of these cemeteries, two comprise Jebel Sahaba, with one cemetery located on either side of the Nile . A third cemetery, Tuskha, is situated nearby. 64 individual skeletons were initially discovered at Jebel Sahaba, as well as numerous other fragmented remains, though 3 skeletons were missing by 2002. Of
7973-413: The clavicle, they may have been caused by an indirect trauma, such as a bad fall, rather than a defensive parry fracture. The other lesions, however, are clearly the result of projectile impacts. A triangular notch on the lateral face of the ilium, about 1 cm from the greater sciatic notch, has a lithic fragment embedded in the incision. The laminated aspect of the bone overlying the flake suggests there
8092-428: The cliff. Other hunters would be waiting at the bottom of the cliff to spear the animal to death. One of the earliest forms of killing prey for humans, hunting game with a spear and spear fishing continues to this day as both a means of catching food and as a cultural activity. Some of the most common prey for early humans were megafauna such as mammoths which were hunted with various kinds of spear. One theory for
8211-399: The collection donated to the British Museum. The lesions observed on JS 31 are located on the infra-cranial skeleton. Our reassessment revealed previously unidentified healed and unhealed projectile impact marks, as well as healed lesions that are most probably the result of earlier interpersonal injuries. The new unhealed PIMs identified include a puncture with crushing, faulting and flaking of
8330-432: The conflict took place due to climate change. By the late paleolithic , the Qadan culture had developed crop harvesting, being among the first cultures to do so. However, climate change reduced crop yields, and the resulting lack of resources would have given an incentive for local social groups to compete for resources through violent struggles such as at Jebel Sahaba. Hoffman's thesis has not been contested. Decades later,
8449-649: The definition—of war in humanity's hypothetical state of nature has been a controversial topic in the history of ideas at least since Thomas Hobbes in Leviathan (1651) argued a "war of all against all" , a view directly challenged by Jean-Jacques Rousseau in a Discourse on Inequality (1755) and The Social Contract (1762). The debate over human nature continues, spanning contemporary anthropology , archaeology , ethnography , history , political science , psychology , primatology , and philosophy in such divergent books as Azar Gat 's War in Human Civilization and Raymond C. Kelly 's Warless Societies and
8568-429: The development of military infrastructure , while military production and logistics were supervised directly from the palatial centers. The most identifiable piece of Mycenaean armor was the boar's tusk helmet . In general, most features of the later hoplite panoply of classical Greek antiquity, were already known to Mycenaean Greece. The Late Bronze Age collapse was a time of widespread societal collapse during
8687-424: The diaphysis. These drags exhibit a flat bottom with parallel microstriations. The most distal one shows flaking marks on the proximal border. Significantly, the angle of penetration into the bone differs for both drags, with the most proximal one being more tangential. These drag marks reflect a projectile trajectory that came from the disto-lateral to the proximo-medial part of the bone. This upward direction suggests
8806-487: The differences are between the Mao and the Qiang . Spears are known as Bhala in Indian languages. Spears in the Indian society were used both in missile and non-missile form, both by cavalry and foot-soldiers. Mounted spear-fighting was practiced using with a 300 cm (10 ft), ball-tipped wooden lance called a bothati , the end of which was covered in dye so that hits may be confirmed. Spears were constructed from
8925-400: The dominant mode of warfare among the Greeks from the late 4th century onward until Greek military systems were supplanted by the Roman legions. In the pre-Marian Roman armies, the first two lines of battle, the hastati and principes , often fought with a sword called a gladius and pila , heavy javelins that were specifically designed to be thrown at an enemy to pierce and foul
9044-409: The double burial of two children JS 13 and JS 14, who are close to 5 and 4 years of age, respectively, based on dental development and bone growth. Five lithic artefacts were found in association with the two individuals. Although no osseous lesion was visible on JS 13, both the cranium and infra-cranium of JS 14 have unhealed trauma caused by projectile impacts. The majority of the lesions are located on
9163-478: The earliest urban warfare attested so far in the archaeological record of the Near East . Continued excavations in 2008 and 2010 expand on that. Archaeological evidence suggests that Proto-Indo-Iranian-speaking Abashevo society was intensely warlike. Mass graves reveal that inter-tribal battles involved hundreds of warriors of both sides. Warfare appears to have been more frequent in the late Abashevo period, and it
9282-659: The edge of historicity, its study relying primarily on archaeology with the help of only fragmentary written accounts. There are around 3,300 structures that can be classed as hillforts or similar "defended enclosures" within Britain. Hillforts in Britain are known from the Bronze Age, but the great period of hillfort construction was during the British Iron Age , between 700 BC and the Roman conquest of Britain in 43 AD. The reason for
9401-403: The emergence of hillforts in Britain, and their purpose, has been a subject of debate. It has been argued that they could have been military sites constructed in response to invasion from continental Europe, sites built by invaders, or a military reaction to social tensions caused by an increasing population and consequent pressure on agriculture. In warlike cultures, war is often ritualized with
9520-438: The end of the 16th century. Spears began to lose fashion among the infantry during the 14th century, being replaced by polearms that combined the thrusting properties of the spear with the cutting properties of the axe, such as the halberd . Where spears were retained they grew in length, eventually evolving into pikes , which would be a dominant infantry weapon in the 16th and 17th centuries. Cavalry spears were originally
9639-464: The excavation which he interpreted as evidence of composite projectile use. The fourth rib with embedded "backed flake" is, unfortunately, also not present in the British Museum Wendorf collection. As with JS 31, all the lesions observed on JS 44 are located in the infra-cranial skeleton, with healed fractures present on the left clavicle, right ulna and radius, and one left rib. The fracture of
9758-584: The extinction of the Neanderthals have been offered by several authors, including Jared Diamond and Ronald Wright . The hypothesis that early humans violently replaced Neanderthals was first proposed by French paleontologist Marcellin Boule (the first person to publish an analysis of a Neanderthal) in 1912. However, several scholars have formed alternative theories as to why the Neanderthals died out, and there
9877-406: The fact that fortifications would be inefficient to construct for society that is primarily nomadic and that only spends a short period of time in one place. Kissel et al. argue that while the general scarcity of evidence from the period suggests warfare may not have been common, it does not support the hypothesis that war was absent. The most ancient archaeological record of what could have been
9996-427: The front. Some paintings even portray still-recognizable tactics like flankings and envelopments . However, it has also been argued that these paintings should be interpreted with caution due to the fact that it is not self-evident that the cultures that made them intended to depict actual events or if they were intended to be symbolic or otherwise possess a different meaning. Systemic warfare appears to have been
10115-585: The greatest chariot battle in history. The raids of the Sea Peoples and the renewed disintegration of Egypt in the Third Intermediate Period marks the end of the Bronze Age. The Tollense valley battlefield is the oldest evidence of a large scale battle in Europe. More than 4,000 warriors from Central Europe fought in a battle on the site in the 13th century BC. Mycenaean Greeks ( c. 1600 – c. 1100 BC ) invested in
10234-562: The head, and cemented in place with bitumen or plant resin as an adhesive. The tepoztopilli was able both to thrust and slash effectively. Throwing spears also were used extensively in Meso-American warfare, usually with the help of an atlatl . Throwing spears were typically shorter and more stream-lined than the tepoztopilli, and some had obsidian edges for greater penetration. Typically, most spears made by Native Americans were created from materials surrounding their communities. Usually,
10353-462: The heavy knightly lance and lighter cavalry with a variety of lighter lances. By the 1540s, however, pistol-armed cavalry called reiters were beginning to make their mark. Cavalry armed with pistols and other lighter firearms, along with a sword, had virtually replaced lance armed cavalry in Western Europe by the beginning of the 17th century. Ultimately, the spear proper was rendered obsolete on
10472-401: The immigrant skeletons, but within the local group of skeletons there were only men and children. They concluded that the absence of women among the local skeletons meant that they were regarded as somehow special, thus they were spared execution and captured instead. The capture of women may have indeed been the primary motive for the fierce conflict between the men. Other speculations about
10591-467: The individual was hit while running or that the projectile was drawn from a lower position. Finally, the spacing between these two drags and their morphology are consistent with the penetration from a single composite projectile. This hypothesis is strengthened by Wendorf's field observation of in situ lithic alignments associated with JS 44. In 2001, Wendorf donated all the archives, artefacts and skeletal remains from his 1965–1966 Nile Valley excavations to
10710-740: The influx of a new population brought innovations around bronze technology. Unlike other cultures who wielded spears at this time, the Egyptians did not treat their javelins (around 1 meter to 3.3 feet long) as disposable, using them both for thrusting and throwing. As advanced metallurgy was largely unknown in pre-Columbian America outside of Western Mexico and South America , most weapons in Meso-America were made of wood or obsidian . This did not mean that they were less lethal, as obsidian may be sharpened to become many times sharper than steel. Meso-American spears varied greatly in shape and size. While
10829-405: The left clavicle shaft, located on the acromial end of the diaphysis, reveals a slight torsion and a displacement of the bone fragments. The right forearm healed fracture is oblique, with a displacement (translation and rotation) of the two broken pieces. The clavicle and forearm fractures most probably occurred during the same event. Given the oblique nature in the forearm and acromial involvement in
10948-399: The length of one zhang (approximately 320 cm or 10 ft), Litte-Flower Spears (Xiao Hua Qiang 小花枪) that are the length of one person and their arm extended above his head, double hooked spears, single hooked spears, ringed spears and many more. There is some confusion as to how to distinguish the Qiang from the Mao , as they are obviously very similar. Some people say that a Mao
11067-608: The lesions suggests inter-group attacks, rather than intra-group or domestic conflicts. Of the skeletons whose sex could be identified, 48.7% were female and 51.3% were male, showing no sex bias. Although people of all expected age groups were present, teenagers, children and infants were under-represented for reasons that are not entirely clear. Combat at Jebel Sahaba seems to have been fought exclusively with projectile weapons - mostly light arrows, but also much heavier arrows or throwing spears. The use of points with oblique or transverse distal cutting edges appears to indicate that one of
11186-404: The main lethal properties sought was to slash and cause blood loss. The fact that many were found inside the volume of the skeleton also indicates their efficiency at penetrating the body. The lesions reveal an equal number of posterior and anterior strikes that do not support face-to-face melee battles. It was discovered in 1964 by a team led by Fred Wendorf . The original project that discovered
11305-721: The many cave paintings of the Upper Paleolithic depicts people attacking other people explicitly, but there are depictions of human beings pierced with arrows both of the Aurignacian - Périgordian (roughly 30,000 years old) and the early Magdalenian (c. 17,000 years old), possibly representing "spontaneous confrontations over game resources" in which hostile trespassers were killed; however, other interpretations, including capital punishment , human sacrifice , assassination or systemic warfare cannot be ruled out. It has also been suggested that lack of evidence of Paleolithic warfare
11424-531: The momentum of the horse and knight to be focused on the weapon's tip, whilst still retaining accuracy and control. This use of the spear spurred the development of the lance as a distinct weapon that was perfected in the medieval sport of jousting . In the 14th century, tactical developments meant that knights and men-at-arms often fought on foot. This led to the practice of shortening the lance to about 150 cm (5 ft) to make it more manageable. As dismounting became commonplace, specialist polearms such as
11543-527: The narrow sense prior to the development of city states in 20th-century archaeology. In the summary of Heath (2017), accumulating archaeology has made it "increasingly harder" to argue for the absence of organised warfare in Neolithic Europe. Bioarchaeologists have found from the skeletal remains of more than 2,300 early farmers from 180 sites in northwestern Europe between 8,000 and 4,000 years ago that more than one in ten suffered weapon injuries. During
11662-463: The ones that were later examined, 38 of the skeletons show signs of trauma, with 16 showing indications of injury at or near time of death. Pointed stone projectiles were found in the bodies of 21 individuals, suggesting that these people had been attacked by spears or arrows . Cut marks were found on the bones of other individuals as well. Some damaged bones had healed, demonstrating a persistent pattern of conflict in this society. Cranial analysis of
11781-517: The other hand, ashigaru infantries used long yari (similar with European pike ) for their massed combat formation. Filipino spears ( sibat ) were used as both a weapon and a tool throughout the Philippines . It is also called a bangkaw (after the Bankaw Revolt .), sumbling or palupad in the islands of Visayas and Mindanao . Sibat are typically made from rattan, either with a sharpened tip or
11900-567: The period of expansion of hunter-gatherer groups associated with the Pitted Ware culture in southern Scandinavia, the Funnelbeaker farmers constructed a number of defensive palisades , which may mean that the two peoples were in conflict with each other. There is archaeological evidence of high levels of violence among the people of the Pitted Ware culture. The 8500-year-old Kennewick Man ,
12019-637: The protohistoric and historic periods. Battles utilizing foot and chariot infantry took place regularly between powers in the North China Plain. Early Iron Age events like the Dorian invasion , Greek colonialism and their interaction with Phoenician and Etruscan forces lie within the prehistoric period. Germanic warrior societies of the Migration period engaged in endemic warfare (see also Thorsberg moor and Illerup Ådal ). Anglo-Saxon warfare lies on
12138-461: The reasons for violence among Linear Pottery Culture settlements in Neolithic Europe include vengeance, conflicts over land and resources, and kidnapping of slaves . Some of these theories related to the lack of resources are supported by the discovery that various fortifications bordering indigenously inhabited areas appear to have not been in use for very long. A mass burial site at Schletz
12257-483: The remains of a probable male over 30 years old based on his heavy dental wear and bone remodeling. Seventeen lithic artefacts found in situ were in direct association with his skeletal remains, with two embedded in the bone and fifteen within the physical space of the body. The embedded chips were originally found in the seventh cervical vertebra and in the left pubis, with the bone around both lithics showing severe reactive changes. Unfortunately, these bones are not part of
12376-414: The same as infantry spears and were often used with two hands or held with one hand overhead. In the 12th century, after the adoption of stirrups and a high-cantled saddle, the spear became a decidedly more powerful weapon. A mounted knight would secure the lance by holding it with one hand and tucking it under the armpit (the couched lance technique) In combination with a lance rest , this allowed all
12495-425: The shaft of the spear was made with a wooden stick while the head of the spear was fashioned from arrowheads, pieces of metal such as copper, or a bone that had been sharpened. Spears were a preferred weapon by many since it was inexpensive to create, could more easily be taught to others, and could be made quickly and in large quantities. Native Americans used the buffalo pound method to kill buffalo, which required
12614-556: The sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastened to the shaft, such as bone , flint , obsidian , copper , bronze , iron , or steel . The most common design for hunting and/or warfare, since ancient times has incorporated a metal spearhead shaped like a triangle , diamond , or leaf . The heads of fishing spears usually feature multiple sharp points , with or without barbs. Spears can be divided into two broad categories: those designed for thrusting as
12733-601: The site of Nataruk in Turkana, Kenya, numerous 10,000-year-old human remains were found with possible evidence of major traumatic injuries, including obsidian bladelets embedded in the skeletons, that should have been lethal. According to the original study, published in January 2016, the region was a "fertile lakeshore landscape sustaining a substantial population of hunter-gatherers" where pottery had been found, suggesting storage of food and sedentism . The initial report concluded that
12852-514: The spear would develop into a longer lance-like weapon used for cavalry charges. There are many words in Chinese that would be classified as a spear in English. The Mao is the predecessor of the Qiang . The first bronze Mao appeared in the Shang dynasty . This weapon was less prominent on the battlefield than the ge ( dagger-axe ). In some archaeological examples two tiny holes or ears can be found in
12971-438: The throwing- spear and ambush hunting techniques required cooperation, which made potential violence between hunting parties very costly. The need to prevent competition for resources by maintenance of low population densities may have accelerated the migration out of Africa of H. erectus some 1.8 million years ago as a natural consequence of conflict avoidance. Hypotheses which suggest that genocidal violence may have caused
13090-420: The violence, if dated correctly, likely occurred in the wake of a local ecological crisis . Initially, Jebel Seheba was believed to be the site of a singular battle. However re-examination of the remains has superseded this thesis. The co-occurrence of healed and unhealed lesions among 41 individuals was found to strongly support sporadic and recurrent violence between the social groups of the Nile valley. At
13209-723: The weapons to hunt galagos sleeping in hollows. The Clacton Spear found in England and the Schöningen spears found in present-day Germany document that wooden spears have been used for hunting since at least 400,000 years ago. A 2012 study from the site of Kathu Pan in South Africa suggests that hominids, possibly Homo heidelbergensis , may have developed the technology of hafted stone-tipped spears in Africa about 500,000 years ago. Wood does not preserve well, however, and Craig Stanford,
13328-480: Was also fortified, which serves as evidence of violent conflict among tribes and means that these fortifications were built as a form of defense against aggressors. The massacre of Schletz occurred at the same time as the massacre at Talheim and several other massacres. More than 200 Neolithic people were killed during the massacre in the Linear Pottery settlement area of Schletz 7000 years ago. More recently,
13447-457: Was an attempt to extract the projectile. The morphology of the PIM also indicates the projectile travelled from the postero-medial to the antero-lateral side of the left pelvic bone, which implies the projectile was travelling back to front. PIMs were also observed on the right femur. Two parallel drags less than 1 cm long and approximately 2 cm from each other are visible on the posterior side of
13566-447: Was found to strongly support sporadic and recurrent violence between the social groups of the Nile valley. The projectile direction inferred from lesions suggest a series of raids or ambushes, rather than pitched battles . It is unclear whether the site is the result of a single conflict, a specific burial place or the evidence of sustained inter-personal violence. Hoffman (1993) argued that
13685-774: Was in this turbulent environment in which the Sintashta culture emerged. The spread of spoke-wheeled chariots has been closely associated with early Indo-Iranian migrations. The earliest known chariots have been found in Sintashta culture burial sites, and the culture is considered a strong candidate for the origin of the technology, which spread throughout the Old World and played an important role in ancient warfare. Military conquests expanded city states under Egyptian control. Babylonia and later Assyria built empires in Mesopotamia while
13804-468: Was subsequently killed. The various types of the assegai (a light spear or javelin made of wood and pointed with iron or fire-hardened tip) were used throughout Africa and it was the most common weapon used before the introduction of firearms . The Zulu , Xhosa and other Nguni tribes of South Africa were renowned for their use of the assegai. Shaka of the Zulu invented a shorter stabbing spear with
13923-514: Was the vita or corded lance. Used by the Maratha Army , it had a rope connecting the spear with the user's wrist, allowing the weapon to be thrown and pulled back. The Vel is a type of spear or lance, originated in Southern India , primarily used by Tamils . Sikh Nihangs sometimes carry a spear even today. Spears were used in conflicts and training by armed paramilitary units such as
14042-516: Was typically used with one hand while the off hand held a cowhide shield for protection. Similar to most armies of their period, Ancient Egyptian forces were centered around the use of the spear. In battle, spearmen would be armed with a bronze -tipped spear (dja) and shield (ikem), which were used in elaborate formations much like Greek and Roman forces. Before the Hyksos invasion into Egypt, wooden spears were used, which were prone to splinter, but
14161-748: Was used in virtually every conflict up until the modern era , where even to this day, it lives on in the form of a bayonet fixed onto the muzzle of a long gun . The word spear comes from the Old English spere , from the Proto-Germanic speri , from a Proto-Indo-European root *sper- "spear, pole". Spear manufacture and use is not confined to humans. It is also practiced by the western chimpanzee . Chimpanzees near Kédougou , Senegal have been observed to create spears by breaking straight limbs off trees, stripping them of their bark and side branches, and sharpening one end with their teeth. They then used
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