The Evolution of Military Technology Stone tools including stone weapons were first used millions of years ago People could find the raw materials they needed in a variety of loca tions and they could quickly master the skill needed to make stone blades and points Initially simple blades and tips were made by striking one stone against another Spear tips and axes became more sophisticated over the eons as people used bone or rock to flake away pieces from flint rocks which broke off into pieces with sharp edges It took some skill to get the shapes edges and points needed for piercing thick animal hides The earliest Stone Age weapon developed spe cifically for warfare was the mace a large stone shaped to the hand and used as a bludgeon to smash bone In time people mastered the difficult task of attaching the stone to a wooden handle to increase the strength velocity and thus the effectiveness of the assault Some maces and clubs were lined with razor-sharp obsidian glass shards which were capable of cutting through leather sinews and mus cle However sharp stones like these could shatter if they struck a rock surface or a metal shield The sling was an early weapon that required some skill to use effectively It was basically a pair 10
Military Technology in the Prehistoric World of loops with a pouch on the end holding a stone The user would hold the loops and swing the pouch with the stone to gain momentum The trick was letting go of one of the loops so that the stone was thrown at the highest velocity in the correct direction Though an effective weapon for hunting or war the sling required significant train ing and practice Eventually primitive bows and arrows with flint tips were developed The earliest arrowheads that have been found date back to sixty thou sand years ago A simple bow made from a single piece of wood is clearly depicted in cave paintings of 30,000 BCE This Stone Age mace or hammer was an early weapon 11
The Evolution of Military Technology The Evolution of Military Technology AN EARLY MASSACRE West of Lake Turkana in Kenya Africa a group of skeletons has been found that show evidence of a brutal Stone Age massacre Some two dozen men women including one who was pregnant and chil dren show signs of having been bound and beaten Skulls were crushed with great force and hands ribs and cheekbones were broken Bones show multiple piercings probably made with stone tipped arrows or spears The killers used clubs and knives as well as projectile weapons not normally used in hunting which implies a planned assault The bodies were found fossilized in an area that was once a lagoon The most shocking thing about this unusual find is that this was a hunter-gatherer group from about ten thousand years ago BASIC DEFENSES Around 10,000 to 8,000 BCE some populations were transitioning from being hunter-gatherers to having an agricultural-based lifestyle settling in small vil lages and towns Some type of defensive shelter was needed to protect their families crops and ani 12 12
Military Technology in the Prehistoric World mals They built protective slopes or walls around their homes and farms The first walls in the Fertile Crescent were most likely built of mud brick adobe or if it was available wood In other areas earthen mounds were built as solid structures or in the shape of a large ring or oval with an opening at one end for livestock to enter Some towns were eventually ringed by tall thick stone walls built specifically for military protection The earliest recorded walled town was Jericho the walls of which were 13 feet 4 meters tall and 3 feet 1 m thick in about 8000 BCE Inside was a strong The walls at the Fort of Dun Aengus on the Isle of Inishmore Ireland date back to between the first and fifth century CE 13
