The Evolution of Military Technology planes made it possible to destroy targets without committing troops to the site Today computer-assisted warfare is a reality Unmanned aerial vehicles UAVs also known as drones can be piloted from the other side of the world while carrying an array of bombs missiles and cam eras It is possible to find a target and deploy weap ons without anyone ever being committed to the ground Satellites keep watch from high above with closer inspection being simply a matter of increas ing the magnification on their cameras Hackers can slow down military communications by overloading computer servers but dedicated networks and serv ers are being built with countermeasures in mind As technology advances so too will the military capa bilities available to nations around the globe 6
Chapter 1 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY IN THE PREHISTORIC WORLD The original weapons used in ancient war fare evolved from hunting and cultivating tools developed over two million years ago Stone-tool technologies were used around the world as were tools and weapons made from wood antler and bone But owing to the lack of travel and communi cation between societies people in isolated areas sometimes developed the same or similar tools weapons and military strategies at different times It can be difficult to determine the precise dates of these developments since they occurred before the invention of writing Information is largely deduced from cave drawings and from the scientific dating of tools and bones that archaeologists have uncovered 7
The Evolution of Military Technology THE EARLIEST WEAPONS OF WAR Evidence has been found of brutal killings among hunter-gatherer groups ten thousand years ago using Stone Age weapons Since most early societ ies were small and relatively isolated however little evidence of large-scale warfare exists from that time The first war recorded in written history was fought in 2700 BCE between Sumer and Elam in Mesopo tamia Sumer won and took the weapons of Elam There is ample evidence however via pictographs and archaeological finds that wars between large armies were fought as early as 3500 BCE The first Stone Age weapons were rocks bones sticks and antlers followed eventually by the devel opment of slingshots and spears javelins Rocks would be used for bludgeoning prey or an enemy or for breaking up the bones of a carcass to get at the marrow inside Rocks also became the first missiles or range weapons capable of striking an enemy or prey at a distance Spears were later cre ated to inflict far greater damage especially when they were thrown with an atlatl a tool that increased the accuracy and force of the throw 8
These prehistoric arrowheads and knives were recovered in Dragsholm Denmark 9
