[Sing-gal] The tool humanity apparently invented way before the sword?

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It's none other than the 'spear.'

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In the prehistoric era hundreds of thousands of years ago, the spear began to be used by early humans as the only means and tool to protect themselves from predators and take down prey from a distance.

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Wooden spear artifacts found in Schöningen, Germany, dating back about 300,000 years, show that humans were already using sophisticated, balanced throwing spears since the Paleolithic era. Passing through the Mesolithic era, humans developed the technology to fix sharp stones to the ends of wooden sticks, and the form evolved day by day, increasing penetration power.

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As armies appeared in ancient times, the spear became the core of military tactics.

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In ancient Greece, infantrymen used to carry the 'Doru,' a spear about 2–3m long, to form phalanxes.

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In ancient Rome, the use of spears became even more diverse. The Roman army used a throwing spear called the 'Pilum' instead of a thrusting spear. It was designed with a bendable iron neck so that once it got stuck in an enemy's shield, it was hard to remove, neutralizing their defense.

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In the Middle Ages and early modern period, spears began to be used for other purposes.

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(Image of a Lance) The lance used in cavalry charges focused the horse's kinetic energy into the iron tip, producing a devastating effect. To counter this, early modern infantry developed a type of spear called the 'Pike' to prepare for such cavalry charges.

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(Image of a Pike) It's often said that the era of knights ended because of the pike, which refers to a long spear over 5m. After this, spears became increasingly multi-purpose...

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(Image of a Halberd) Spears evolved into weapons like the halberd, which combined an axe and a hook at the tip, allowing for thrusting, slashing, and pulling knights off their horses. Since then, the spear's importance grew to the point where it was considered the undisputed top power in military strength. As time passed, the spear began to decline, forgetting its past glory. The development of firearms was a major factor; first,

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When the flintlock musket, which has a rate of fire more than twice as fast as previous matchlock guns, appeared, the probability of suppressing enemy cavalry with gunfire before they could approach increased, and the efficiency of cavalry began to drop. The complete downfall began in the 1680s. The socket bayonet developed in the 1680s–90s was fixed to the side of the muzzle, allowing firing and reloading even with the blade attached. This meant every infantryman could be both a marksman and a pikeman at the same time. Subsequently, France, Britain, and Prussia began replacing pikemen with musketmen equipped with bayonets.

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After the 17th century, the spear remained in Eastern European countries or as a symbol of authority and order. Even into the 18th and 19th centuries, the spear was a very important weapon for some peasant militias. Practically, the spear completely disappeared from WWI due to the supply of machine guns and other modern weapons.

And today, spears are used in the Olympic event 'Javelin Throw' or in some leisure activities.

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The spear, one of humanity's first tools, is currently being recorded alongside human history.