strap, held by the slinger, was looped securely around a fi nger
or wrist, while the other strap, usually knotted to provide a
grip, was held freely between the thumb and forefi nger of the
throwing hand. Th e missile, a stone, was placed on a piece of
leather, and the straps were pulled taut, creating a pocket for
the stone. A rotary motion of the wrist, usually three or four
rotations, gave the stone momentum when the unlooped, held
strap was released. A skilled thrower could be very accurate,
and the high-speed missile could kill.
Copper technology indicates that ancient Africans mas-
tered a considerable degree of the pyrotechnology needed for
copper smelting. Evidence of early copper metallurgy has been
radiocarbon dated from 4140 b.c.e. to 2700 b.c.e. in western
Africa. Copper products included thin arrowheads. Th ere is
evidence of iron production in East Africa from about 1400
b.c.e. Th e date suggests that iron production might not have
been introduced from elsewhere but instead developed in the
region. Iron ore is distributed widely across Africa. Stone ar-
tifacts were always present at early Iron Age sites in the form
of arrow points and axes, with metal weapons used as status
objects. Africans employed iron to make tools, weapons, and
points for weapons. Many central African people believed
that, except on a few designated occasions, women should not
come into contact with iron. To do so could render a woman
barren and destroy the power of the iron products with which
she came into contact. However, other parts of Africa ac-
cepted women warriors, and the Teda of the Tibesti region
developed weaponry specifi cally for women.
Th e Iron Age brought the use of throwing knives as mis-
siles. Th rowing knives, additionally used as long-distance
currency, were more popular than javelins. Th e sharp spikes
of these weapons could infl ict severe wounds on practicallynude enemies. Th e classic form of the northern variety of
throwing knife consists of a narrow piece of iron, up to 2½
feet in length, with a projecting spur a little over halfway up.
Below this spur are a straight shaft and a grip, which, if not
made of bare iron, is usually made of hide or reptile skin.
Above the spur is the blade, oft en broader than the shaft and
curving forward in the same direction as the spur. Weapons
of this t y pe were distributed across a wide area of Sudanic Af-
rica from northern Nigeria to the Blue Nile province of Sudan
and deep into the Tibesti region of the Sahara.
Th e typical southern variety of throwing knife is gener-
ally smaller than the northern variety. It usually has a num-
ber of blades radiating from the central shaft and a grip of
plaited vegetal material or, occasionally, of wire or hide. It is
found in a small area of northern Gabon and in a broad belt
from eastern Cameroon almost to the White Nile. Th e Zande
kpinga, a southern type of throwing knife, is one of the few
varieties whose aerodynamic qualities and consistent use as
a missile have been well documented. Th e heavier northern
throwing knife was used more oft en than the lighter southern
variety for ceremonial purposes.
Not every weapon was intended for war. Weapons of
various types were widely used in dance and masquerade
throughout Africa. Th e musele, a Kota throwing knife con-
ceived as a bird in profi le with a long bill, was not designed
to be thrown. Th e Kota, of the eastern Ogooué River region,
saw the musele as a prestigious weapon of chiefs to be used in
dances. Th rowing knives of the Wadai region were also orni-
thologically inspired and designed for ceremonial purposes.
Among the Kota and the Fang spears, knives, and swords
were considered to be emblems of the owner’s status and were
left on tombs of chiefs aft er death.
To protect against weapons, Africans used light armor
that befi tted their hot climate. Th e protective armor of the
Benin warrior was a large wooden shield with a curved top
and straight bottom. It was designed to be set on the ground
to cover a kneeling man. Th e shields in the Sudan were made
of hippopotamus or elephant hide. Th e shields of the Dinka
were oval in outline and reinforced by a staff threaded through
loops cut into the hide. Th e staff served as a handgrip. Th e
Shuli had shields of a more nearly rectangular form, while the
Shilluk and Nuer both had shields that could serve as clubs.
Th e club shields were reinforced with a log with a cutout for
the grip. Th e skin cover of ox hide was applied tightly in or-
der to keep the wood from splitting when delivering blows
with this shield club. Chiefs and other distinguished war-
riors throughout Africa wore helmets of padded basketwork
or crocodile skin. For body armor they had quilted ponchos
covered with leopard skins.EGYPT
BY AMR KAMEL
Ancient Egyptian weapons apparently were manufactured in
the workshops attached to royal palaces, great temples, andStone ball, Lower Palaeolithic, about 1.2 million years old, found
in Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania; such stone balls might have been tied
to a leather thong and used in hunting to bring down game. (© Th e
Trustees of the British Museum)1162 weaponry and armor: Egypt0895-1194_Soc&Culturev4(s-z).i1162 1162 10/10/07 2:31:17 PM