Iron Age cultures existed up until the eighteen hundreds in Southern Africa.
Below are some examples of various types of iron age spears made around that time that are at least a century old.
Different types of spears heads and spears were preferred by the different tribes.
Thin and Slender for throwing spears and stouter and broader for stabbing or thrusting spears.
Zulu's preferred the Assegai or thrusting spear and Xhosa's and other tribes the throwing spear.
The throwing spears are inserted into thinner shafts and the stabbing or thrusting spears are attached to stouter shafts.
Various methods are used to secure the spear point to the shaft.
- wrapping with a leather thong - center
- encasing the wrapping in a wet piece of leather that contracts and hardens as it dries.
- inserting the shaft into an iron receptacle as is the case with the stabbing spear.
These spear heads are beaten into shape while repeatedly heating and beating an originally round bar to produce the thin, but strong blade.
Great pictures. That spear head on the far left seems particularly fantastic to me.
My favorite too, have chased an intruder with this one
Sounds like one of those crazy moments in life--but I'll bet the intruder was surprised.
Here, I'll just sneak into this place to swipe something. What the...? The owner is coming at me with a spear? Hope he doesn't have a blowgun as well he thinks as he runs off.
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Yeah
Any idea when the african people started mining iron for weapons? Also was it's something they discovered themselves or was it past down from Roman era, maybe explorers?
Iron ores of many varieties are plentiful in Africa, This teck was introduced to Southern Africa by tribes migrating down from the north. SA hunter gatherers were stone age up till that time.
What I find fascinating about ancient metal working techniques is that they did a lot of processes which have the same effects as we use today in terms of hardening and working the metal into a useful tool.
I'm a metal worker and we are taught the effects our processes have down to the structure of the molecules. These guys wouldnt have benefitted from that level of knowledge but they did know how to use similar techniques to have the same effects.
In fact some people believe that some ancient metals were actually superior to todays such as true Damascus steel (not the modern recreated versions).
trial and error is a good teacher
Deadly weapons.. safe to say combat striking & war is your thing. I love defensive training, this post resonates some, cheers!
nope, I just like old stuff that tells its own story
weapons are always dangerous.....we have to be conscious
Too bad they don't do black smithing like they used too. That old style hand pounded iron looks really good.
yup, and keeps a strong and sharp edge
I think, different types of spears heads and spears were preferred by the different tribes because there were many different species as well.
My guess, the bigger the animal, the longer the spears head should be?
Iron age tribes were pastoralists, these spears were mainly for warfare, not so much for hunting.
Well, in this circumstances, I would not want to get stabbed with either one....
Hey, did you find them in your garden? :d
Officially the stone age garden.
actually, one of them yes
"Time to leave the stone age and visit the iron age" cuz of bitcoin 1th August right? XD new age of btc
lol... didn't think of that
And they probably forged it in a furnace made out of clay.
Did they have an iron mine or did they picked it up from the ground?
All of the above
great article :)
is this your own spear collection? Or are those pictures from a museum?
have a nice day! ;)
my own
oh wow, really cool ;)
so I guess you are an archeologist?
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Thank you for sharing this. :)
Great article.. I love reading about ancient way of existence.. Cheers for the efforts thst have been placed into writing this and all the best of wishes from me 🍻
Goldie
The rightmost one looks like a cake spade.
It is fascinating to see how human tend to develop and keep searching for something new.
Nothing is lost, Nothing is created, Everything changes
when was gold discovered?
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When I look at the picture in your post, I am reminded of this sharp object, an object usually used for hunting. The people of Aceh often expel pigs that disturb plants with this thing. @gavvet
Hi @gavvet I like your posts. Thank's
People in rural areas in my country still wear spears and other traditional weapons to hunt and protect themselves from wild animals while gardening. They do not use firearms, because my country forbids possession of weapons in private. But the way, you have the same hobby as my husband 😅.
I would not want the doctor to work on me with those tools!
Thank you so much for the support you are giving to my posts. I hope someday to be able to return... Nice post very interesting.
amazing craftsmanship,but without belabouring a point ( no pun intended) and returning to your previous post, why did these tribesmen not use metal- headed digging tools instead of weighted sticks to dig tubers? I just can't get past this - it seems puzzling to me. I mean, yes, back in the stone age they'd use primitive methods, but surely as they progressed they used metal tipped tools for farming type tasks?
the hunter-gatherers had no knowledge of iron smelting
@gavvet
Great sharing. Loved the pics. Ancient people achieved mastery in making of these spears and stouter, in-fact various other weapons with their hands and stones only. I also like reading history and visiting historical places. And trying to write about those, here in steemit itself :)
Evolution Is The Way To Go Bro :)
This post reminds my how I was helping my uncle who was a blacksmith to beat the red heated steel into different shapes, mainly clamps for wood fixation. I was always so enthusiastic when visiting him.
Those primitive people were very creative and skillful, they were blessed with those ingenious ideas, and talents.
JOCK!!!!....START THE PLANE
fascinating post that reflects the past , and how our ancestor where very creative thorough the ages right up to where we at right now, and i'm grateful that you shared this info, thanks for post and i also upvoted and followed you
That's a nice collection of spears @gavvet! Really very precious! Have you ever used them though!?
Cheers
@progressivechef
Nice post
Excellent article brother !, hey, can you help me with a vote of yours? I would thank you from the heart!
you always have these kinds of articles...about ancient things...I like it bro...Do you have axes?
They were the first weapons, it's interesting to see how humanity is progressing everyday. Thanks
Metal of good quality. Very well preserved. Thanks for the post
People need to know their culture and history.
But not everyone in their free time will read books or search for information about the past.
Thanks to such posts, we can learn something interesting. Or remember what was taught in school.
Thank you dear @gavvet !
After stone age, people tried their best to get important tools made from iron. They used them for their daily lives tools. Thanks for sharing such an amazing fact.
Post quality.
deadly weapons, I imagine of dropping myself holding one of those. Are these your collections?
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The good poster I like, in my aceh place there are still many ancient archaeologists like spear, sword, rencong, and ax. In the past they used this tool to hunt and refrain from enemy attacks. So the shape and model from time to time.
Africa is great
Impressive photo collection . Makes me re-define what hardship actually means .
Great info, awesome work....
Truly magnificent tools time to visit ironage with ironman for sure.
I hope we all came back to this kind of system where you can't see guns, ripples, tanks and other war equipment or machines use in the battle, coz every time i imagine about those i always thinking why those things are built, if the age of stone still existing you can all see bravery of all warrior seeing a fight of a man to man battle with swords, shields and spares.
The effectiveness of the Assegai is still appreciated today.
The company is Cold Steel and they have several different models of spears, both stabbing and throwing.
Good pictures.
I certainly need that collection up on my wall. Thank you again @gavvet.
Isn't it crazy how far we've come
Nice info. But @gavvet, tongue more sharpen than a spear,Rite? :D
Spear is a weapon that is widely found throughout the world civilization, mainly because of its manufacture and the cost of making a cheap. Spear is a weapon for hunting and battle, its part consisting of a stick as a handle and a sharp eyes and head of a tomb and sometimes hardened with other materials. Along with the axle of the spear is the first tool made by human beings and in line with the development of stone and stone masonry civilization which is smoothed to replace the stronger and durable metal. Thanks for the post, very interesting and me