History of Spear Hunting

It cannot be said when man first began to use spears for hunting or tools. Recently chimpanzees have been observed using wooden spears to hunt after seeing indenigous locals. Neanderthals were constructing stone spears incredibly early and wooden spears which were not preserved were made with fire-hardened points. Paleolithic humans began to make complex stone blades which were put on wooden shafts to form hunting spears.

Humans grouped together in large groups like pack animals in order to take out large mammoth animals. Spear Hunting was the most common method of hunting from the Stone Age until the advent of firearms. Spears are unique in that they can both be used as a melee and ballistic weapons, meaning that they can be used to jab as efficiency, ease of use and effect. The spear is still used today in hunting boars for the unique challenge it provides.

Spearmen were considered amongst the highest rank in primitive societies and for good reason, these men required true bravery in order to do take down large mammals. Often time’s ceremonies were held before and after the hunt in order to give good blessings to the men that put their life on the line. A man's Rite of Passage usually involved leaving the clan for a few days and fending on his own, finding and killing his own food. This showed him how difficult it was to try and live on you’re own, it showed him that in order to succeed he must stick with the clan. It seems unlikely that a bunch of men can take down a mamal as massive as the Wooly Mastodon but it was possible and many did it to survive. Hunter’s would scout out a herd of Wooly Mastodon, then they would single out the bull of the herd. The Bull is the leader and if the rest of the heard sees him running they will soon follow. Once the Bull is spotted the hunters will quietly sneak into spear range of the herd, then all of a sudden they will scare the Bull causing mass panic within the Wooly Mastodon herd. Many Mastodons will run off confused, and then the hunters will pick the weakest one, usually a calf or an elderly Mastodon. They will then encircle the weak Mastodon and either throw their spears or Jab at him.

Spears have been used throughout history to equip the basic infantrymen due to the fact that they are incredibly easy to manufacture. Spears can be as simple as a sharpened stick of wood, combined with their effectiveness they are a very valuable tool for any large army. Spears can also be used as throwing weapons; this provides two different ways to attack the enemy. In roman times the Greeks used Pilums as throw away throwing spears, these spears were about half iron and half wood. The iron half was made so that when the spear impacted the enemy it would be bent, thus rendering it useless for the enemy to throw back at the Greeks. In Greek phalanxes 20ft spears were used by men at the back so that they could reach and attack at the same time as the men in the front of the phalanx, this maximized efficiency and proved to be a deadly strategy. The importance of spears can be noted that even when guns were introduced men still attached bayonets onto their weapons, basically a spear attached to the tip of the barrel. Tribes in the Amazon and Africa still use spears to hunt and wage war with neighboring peoples, the Spear will likely be a weapon that we will see in one shape or form till the demise of man.

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