# Timeline of weapons and tools from Stone Age to Early Iron Age or sources, anyone?



## Burzum0727 (May 18, 2014)

Im having trouble finding some information I need for my novel.Im looking for something like a timeline for when different weapons and tools were invented prior to the Renaissance. Im looking for a timeline preferably. Any information pertaining to this would be wonderful. Ive been looking for two days now and am having trouble finding a good source. For instance I was considering putting the first appearance of a specific siege weapon, but cannot find dates for altered versions and things of that nature. I figured there must be some research someone could share that they have collaborated together, or a valuable source they have stumbled upon. Thank you all in advance for any information and sources. Also I've done all the wikipedia searches and such so no need to state just google it .


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## Bard_Daniel (May 18, 2014)

Very interested in this for my own work as well. 

+1


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## Burzum0727 (May 18, 2014)

Love the Signature! Yes I think it will be valuable. I also created a group to focus on this as well if your interested.


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## Bard_Daniel (May 18, 2014)

Very interested. Will do some research and figure out what we're working with.


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## ppsage (May 18, 2014)

It's not totally clear what you're think might exist, but, because of the nature of the historical record--with vague references and local application and overlapping claims, etc. etc.--probably no such authoritative summary exists, or, if one does, it's oversimplification may not suit the purpose. Probably some note-taking and research time would be well spent. The internet would work, but, if you can get yourself into a major municipal public library, they often have well-appointed military history sections with a shelf or two of those glossy pamphlet-sized summaries, usually about units, but with weapons discussions, which I find useful for the needs of fiction. This is a popular area of amateur historical interest, which libraries cater to. The booklets themselves I find prohibitively expensive to own.


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## Burzum0727 (May 18, 2014)

Yes unfortunately I live in quite the rural area, hahaha. I am not looking for anything that is definite or set in concrete just to use as a guideline for setting things in a relatively straight and historical manner. Now that you have said that..... idea for a nonfiction book....???


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## Cran (May 18, 2014)

These might get you started. A single comprehensive timeline is probably left as an exercise for the student. Dating specific versions or modifications to individual weapons would mean diving into a university library or similar. 



> *BC*
> 20,000 Invention of the bow and arrow...
> 
> 4000First use of metals - copper smelted for making tools.3500Bronze, a hard copper tin alloy, discovered and used for         making weapons, tools and armor.
> ...


-Innovation Timeline




> *1415*
> The Battle of Agincourt  marks the zenith of mediaeval longbow technology. An English army with a  high proportion of archers decimates a French army five to 10 times  larger.
> See _The longbow's deadly secrets_
> 
> ...


-Timeline: Weapons technology15:51 07 July 2009 by             *Michael Marshall*New Scientist



> *c. 1800 BC* 
> 
> 
> 
> ...


-History World Timelines



> [SIZE=-1]These definitions  exclude some of the most frequently cited uses of chemical weapons,  mainly those dating back to the Peloponnesian War. The reason for  striking this instance from the chronology is that the recently  translated version of Leonardo Da Vinci's notebooks shows a stark  overlap between '_Greek Fire_' and the methods used by the Spartans and the Boeotians.[3] Moreover, the purpose of '_Greek Fire_'as  a weapon of toxic properties appears faulty in that the primary and  overarching purpose of it is for use to create a more persistent fire  and not to poison. Finally, in Thucydides' account of the Peloponnesian  War, he seems to explicitly show that the "coals of fire, brimstone, and  pitch," were designed to burn down the walls of Delium and previously  aimed for walling in and burning the Plataeans.[3]
> 
> [SIZE=-1]*~1770 B.C.E. [BW]-* Sumerian cuneiforms created depicting an understanding of methods of contagion.[4]
> *~1200 B.C.E. [BW]-* Some believe poison arrows were used in the Trojan War due to the descriptions of toxic weapons provided by Homer in the _Iliad_.[5]
> ...


-*Chronology of Major Events in the History of Biological  and Chemical Weapons*



> *History of Greek Fire**
> The  history of Greek Fire is believed to date back to the 7th century and  invented by a Byzantine engineer called Kallinikos (or Callinicus). It  was first used against the Arabs at the siege of Constantinople of 673.*


-Greek Fire
I guess whoever did this research didn't find the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC). 




> At this time in history the Greek cities of Athens and Sparta were the focal points of clashing ideologies. Allies of both were constantly engaged in bloody power struggles via:
> *pitched battles* (scheduled encounters),
> *skirmishes* (unscheduled battles), or
> *sieges* (attack of a fortress or town).
> ...


-Siege Engines:Medieval Mayhem



> Spears are one of humankind’s earliest weapons and they reigned                supreme for a hundred thousand years. The material culture of our                Paleolithic (500,000 BC – 8,000 BC) ancestors covers 99% of                the total time that man has been making tools and weapons. This                undoubtedly makes the spear mans most produced weapon. The spear                has been credited with creating 450,000 years of peace on earth,                as even an outnumbered man holding a spear would be deadly to attack                without ranged weapons.


-Ancient Weapons



> PREHISTORIC WEAPONS
> Human beings have probably always killed each other. Early people  used clubs, axes and spears. They also used bows and arrows. (Cave  paintings from Spain dating from 10,000 to 5,000 BC show men fighting  with bows).
> 
> A wooden club is a surprisingly effective weapon. As early as 6,000  BC African cave paintings show people armed with clubs. Much later  wooden clubs were still used in Africa and the Pacific. Early axes were  made of wood and stone. (Like the tomahawk of the Native Americans).  However the sword was not a practical weapon until people had become  skilled in making things from metal.
> ...


-A Short History of Weapons by Tim Lambert



> As we have mentioned before, technological breakthroughs aren't always built upon or improved -- oftentimes they're just outright forgotten, destroyed or lost to some ridiculous accident.
> The same goes with military technology. Some ancient weapons were  literally centuries ahead of their time yet wound up in the trash when  society decided they were simply too awesome for their time.
> 
> Read more:  http://www.cracked.com/article_1888...story-somehow-forgot-about.html#ixzz326acTzEU


-7 Insanely Advanced Weapons History Somehow Forgot About



> The sambuca was a siege weapon of the ancient world capitalizing on basic leverage principles. The system featured a wheeled ...


-Ancient and Medieval Weapons




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## Burzum0727 (May 18, 2014)

Spectacular Cran! Thank you very much those are wonderful.


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## dvspec (May 18, 2014)

Also, just because you live in a rural area does not mean you can't use the library.  Check out interlibrary loan and see what they have on the web page. Just because your library doesn't have it, does not mean you can't get it. 

Also, find a museum online that had a display of the age you are interested in.  They have tons of stuff and don't display much at one time.  They also have research books.  If the museum is close you might take a day trip for research.


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## MysticalMind (May 20, 2014)

This documentary (Ice Man Murder Mystery) about the (correct at time of posting) oldest preserved human being might help you. This "ice man" found in the Alps has reshaped peoples' understanding of human history. The man is known to have suffered from heart disease and, perhaps more importantly, has shown that people were using metal tools much earlier than expected. The man was found to have been killed by another human but, to find out how, you'll have to watch the documentary, as some people reading this may not want to be spoiled.


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## Morkonan (May 23, 2014)

Burzum0727 said:


> ... Thank you all in advance for any information and sources. Also I've done all the wikipedia searches and such so no need to state just google it .



This is something I've had an interest in, from time to time, as well... (No pun intended... probably.)

A nice overview of the likelihood and form of early human conflict can be found in "Before the Dawn", by Nicholas Wade. Wade also examines the combat styles and some weapons of primitive peoples that are likely analogous to ancient man. (10,000+ yrs ago, before and immediately after the Great Diaspora)

It's worth noting that what we consider to be "Warfare", today, is largely a Western invention, with certain basic principles of Warfare being universal. Primitive warfare was likely little more than wanton acts of intentional murder by groups of people. "Ritualized" conflict is also something that can be found in certain primitive peoples, designed around displays of aggression and certain rituals in order to avoid the bulk of actual physical combat between large groups.

Your most basic weapon is going to be a stick. Later, someone figured out that poking people with the sharp end would really hurt. Some genius figured out they could combine a stick with a rock and gain all the advantages of throwing a rock, but without actually losing their weapon...  The rest is history.


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