Tools of War

History of Weapons in Ancient Times

There are a wide range of ancient weapons from around the globe. Ancient weapons are often advancements on the earlier phase of weapons development, the primitive weapons man first created for hunting and warfare. However, some have no primitive predecessors, like the sword. Swords can only be crafted through a forging process that had not been invented in the earliest phase of weapon construction. Ancient weapons come in three forms, ranged weapons, melee (close combat) and siege weapons. Many of these weapons, like the sword, are almost universally known while others like the bizarre hunga-munga are little known and defy classification. The age of ancient weapons technically ended with the dawn of the medieval period, but these human powered weapons continued to dominate battlefields up until the ascendance of firearms. However, they can still be found on battlefields up to this very day. This book has been written keeping in view the requirements of undergraduate and postgraduate students and research scholars in the area of Military History & weapons and warfare.