Spear

The most common design for hunting and/or warfare, since modern times has incorporated a metal spearhead shaped like a triangle, diamond, or leaf.

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.

[9] 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.

[12] 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).

[14] 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.

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 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.

[17] In the late period of the Roman Empire, the spear became more often used because of its anti-cavalry capacities as the barbarian invasions were often conducted by people with a developed culture of cavalry in warfare.

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.

The Vikings, for instance, although often portrayed with an axe, sword, or lance in hand, were armed mostly with spears,[18] as were their Anglo-Saxon, Irish, or continental contemporaries.

[24] William Wallace drew up his schiltrons in a circle at the Battle of Falkirk in 1298 to deter charging cavalry;[25] this was a widespread tactic sometimes known as the "crown" formation.

[34] The development of both the long, two-handed pike and gunpowder firearms in Renaissance Europe saw an ever-increasing focus on integrated infantry tactics.

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 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)).

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.

The Qin also employed long spears (more akin to a pike) in formations similar to Swiss pikemen in order to ward off cavalry.

The Qiang that were produced in the Song and Ming dynasties consisted of four major parts: Spearhead, Shaft, End Spike and Tassel.

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.

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.

Spears were used in conflicts and training by armed paramilitary units such as the razakars of Nizams of Hyderabad State as late as the second half of the 20th century.

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.

Shaka of the Zulu invented a shorter stabbing spear with a 30 cm (1 ft) shaft and a larger, broader blade one foot (0.3m) long.

[50] 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 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)[50] as disposable, using them both for thrusting and throwing.

While the Aztecs preferred the sword-like macuahuitl clubs for fighting,[53] the advantage of a far-reaching thrusting weapon was recognised, and a large portion of the army would carry the tepoztopilli into battle.

[54] 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 the head, and cemented in place with bitumen or plant resin as an adhesive.

This practice of symbolically casting a spear into the enemy ranks at the start of a fight was sometimes used in historic clashes, to seek Odin's support in the coming battle.

The Hindu god of war Murugan is worshipped by Tamils in the form of the spear called Vel, which is his primary weapon.