in the Early Iron Age (beginning in 1000 b.c.e.). While some
elaborately decorated daggers were apparently intended only
for ceremonial use, most daggers were employed for fi ghting
at close quarters. Unlike the bow and arrow, daggers prob-
ably were meant only for human fi ghting rather than hunt-
ing. It is possible, however, that they were used to deliver a
coup de grace to wounded animals and people and, in the
absence of other implements identifi able as knives, daggers
also might have been used to butcher prey. Daggers typically
had rounded pommels.
Two types of weapons emerged early in the Bronze Age
that would have a substantial impact on warfare for many
centuries. Th e sword and the spear were critical elements in
combat. Th e spear developed out of a daggerlike blade with
a long tang (attaching the blade to the handle) that might
have been mounted on a long shaft rather than held close to
the body. By 1800 b.c.e. the socketed version, fi tting over the
shaft , was in use in central Europe. With only small diff er-
ences, this is the form that existed throughout the ancient
era. Depictions of spears do not clearly indicate whether
they were typically held or thrown. In Europe small and
large spearheads were used, as were those of intermediate
sizes. It is most likely that small spearheads were intended
for light javelins that could be thrown over long distances.
Large spearheads were probably used for heavy spears that
were held fi rm by a warrior or group of warriors under close-
quarters thrust at an opponent. Collective fi nds of spears in
Scandinavia indicate that spear owners acted and fought in
collaboration, with some throwing their spears and then tak-
ing cover behind others, who advanced holding their spears.
At the moment of encounter the throwers could then have
emerged to use cutting or thrusting weapons (daggers, rapi-
ers, swords) in hand-to-hand combat.
While spears were obviously important, they were not
usually decorated or given the appearance of prestige weap-
ons, unlike swords. Early versions of the sword were in ex-istence by 1800 b.c.e. Th e cut-and-thrust sword developed
several centuries later. In combat, swords were usually ac-
companied by daggers or knives and sometimes by spears.
Not everyone relied on a sword—a few relied on spears or
daggers. Still, swords were the commonest weapon.
To f e n d o ff arrowheads and the blows of blades, ancient
Europeans devised various types of armor. Most of the earli-
est examples of body armor in Europe date to the 13th cen-
tury b.c.e. Leather and wood were the most popular materials
for protection. Wooden shields were produced in Ireland
around 1800 b.c.e. Leather, always in use, had more fl exibil-
ity than bronze, and it was considerably cheaper and easier
to produce. Few warriors were protected entirely by bronze,
but hammered sheet bronze is so thin that it would have been
relatively useless as protection against a spear or sword.
Pelts were also used as a sort of armor that off ered not
only the physical protection of the animal’s fur and hide but
also the psychological reinforcement brought about by tak-
ing on the animal’s fi ghting skills. Warriors wore the pelts
of wolves, bears, and other fi erce animals when going into
battle. Th e head of the animal sat on the warrior’s head like a
helmet. Th e animal’s front legs ran down the warrior’s arms,
protecting them from sword blows, while its hind legs were
attached to the warrior’s legs. In this way the warrior inhab-
ited the animal and took on its spirit, oft en in an intensely
ecstatic state that made him relatively impervious to wounds
and to fear and, consequently, very hard to stop.
Th ere was another kind of ecstatic warrior that fought
wearing no armor—indeed, no clothes at all. A representa-
tion of such a naked warrior has been found carved into a
stone slab left by the Kemi-Oba culture at Kernosovka in
Ukraine. It is the oldest-known image of a European warrior
and dates from 4000 to 3000 b.c.e. Th e warrior is dressed
in nothing but a belt, but he is heavily armed with a club, a
knife or spear, and three axes. His hair is long, his arms are
held tightly to his chest with his shoulders pulled up, and
his penis is erect, all indicating a heightened state of pas-
sion and alertness. Th e same representations of tightly held
arms, tense shoulders, and erect penis are also found on a
Celtic statue of a “berserk” warrior. Th e Celts adorned their
nakedness with golden neckbands, which served the double
purpose of accenting their white skins and taunting their
enemies to come and take the bands off their necks if they
dared. Th ey wore their naked paleness with similar bravado,
as a kind of psychological armor that showed off the red
blood of their wounds. Without the burden of armor, they
were also faster than ordinary soldiers. At the battle of Can-
nae in 216 b.c.e. the Romans ran in terror from the troops
of bare-chested Gauls that Hannibal had assembled. In
these cases, the most eff ective armor was no armor. Berserks
scared their opponents into fl eeing the fi eld of battle. When
men did fi ght, wooden shields and leather coverings off ered
little protection against arrowheads and swords. In ancient
Europe weaponry advanced more quickly than personal de-
fenses against it.Spear thrower carved in the shape of a mammoth, Late Magdalenian
(about 12,500 years old), from the rock shelter of Montastruc, Tarn-et-
Garonne, France (© Th e Trustees of the British Museum)weaponry and armor: Europe 11670895-1194_Soc&Culturev4(s-z).i1167 1167 10/10/07 2:31:19 PM