Spear & Jackson 5 Litre Pump Action Pressure Sprayer

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Spear hunting fell out of favour in most of Europe in the 18th century, but continued in Germany, enjoying a revival in the 1930s. [57] Spear hunting is still practiced in the United States. [58] Animals taken are primarily wild boar and deer, although trophy animals as large as Cape Buffalo have been hunted with spears. Alligators are hunted in Florida with a type of harpoon.

The Celts would symbolically destroy a dead warrior's spear either to prevent its use by another or as a sacrificial offering.J. Wilkins et al. "Evidence for early hafted hunting technology". Science, Vol. 338, Nov. 16, 2012, p. 942. doi:10.1126/science.1227608. The Hindu god of war Murugan is worshipped by Tamils in the form of the spear called Vel, which is his primary weapon. [68] Nicholson, Helen (2004). Medieval Warfare. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan. pp.102–3. ISBN 978-0-333-76331-5.

Sébastien Nadot, Rompez les lances! Chevaliers et tournois au Moyen Age, Paris, ed. Autrement, 2010. ( Couch your lances! Knights and tournaments in the Middle Ages...)

As advanced metallurgy was largely unknown in pre-Columbian America outside of Western Mexico and South America, most weapons in Meso-America were made of wood or obsidian. This did not mean that they were less lethal, as obsidian may be sharpened to become many times sharper than steel. [50] Meso-American spears varied greatly in shape and size. While the Aztecs preferred the sword-like macuahuitl clubs for fighting, [51] the advantage of a far-reaching thrusting weapon was recognised, and a large portion of the army would carry the tepoztopilli into battle. [52] The tepoztopilli was a polearm, and to judge from depictions in various Aztec codices, it was roughly the height of a man, with a broad wooden head about twice the length of the users' palm or shorter, edged with razor-sharp obsidian blades which were deeply set in grooves carved into the head, and cemented in place with bitumen or plant resin as an adhesive. The tepoztopilli was able both to thrust and slash effectively. Filipino spears ( sibat) were used as both a weapon and a tool throughout the Philippines. It is also called a bangkaw (after the Bankaw Revolt.), sumbling or palupad in the islands of Visayas and Mindanao. Sibat are typically made from rattan, either with a sharpened tip or a head made from metal. These heads may either be single-edged, double-edged or barbed. Styles vary according to function and origin. For example, a sibat designed for fishing may not be the same as those used for hunting.

From circa 200,000 BC onwards, Middle Paleolithic humans began to make complex stone blades with flaked edges which were used as spear heads. These stone heads could be fixed to the spear shaft by gum or resin or by bindings made of animal sinew, leather strips or vegetable matter. During this period, a clear difference remained between spears designed to be thrown and those designed to be used in hand-to-hand combat. By the Magdalenian period (c. 15,000–9500 BC), spear-throwers similar to the later atlatl were in use. [10] Military [ edit ] Sumerian spearmen advancing in close formation with large shields – Stele of the Vultures, c. 2450 BC Europe [ edit ] Classical antiquity [ edit ] Ancient Greeks [ edit ] Athenian warrior wielding a spear in battle Richter, Daniel; Krbetschek, Matthias (December 2015). "The age of the Lower Paleolithic occupation at Schöningen". Journal of Human Evolution. 89: 46–56. doi: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.06.003. PMID 26212768. A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities (1890), William Smith, LLD, William Wayte, G. E. Marindin, Ed., Hasta A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastened to the shaft, such as bone, flint, obsidian, copper, bronze, iron, or steel. The most common design for hunting and/or warfare, since ancient times has incorporated a metal spearhead shaped like a triangle, diamond, or leaf. The heads of fishing spears usually feature multiple sharp points, with or without barbs.Other spears of religious significance are the Holy Lance [65] and the Lúin of Celtchar, [66] believed by some to have vast mystical powers. In classical Greek mythology Zeus' bolts of lightning may be interpreted as a symbolic spear. Some would carry that interpretation to the spear that frequently is associated with Athena, interpreting her spear as a symbolic connection to some of Zeus' power beyond the Aegis once he rose to replacing other deities in the pantheon. Athena was depicted with a spear prior to that change in myths, however. Chiron's wedding-gift to Peleus when he married the nymph Thetis in classical Greek mythology, was an ashen spear as the nature of ashwood with its straight grain made it an ideal choice of wood for a spear. In the late period of the Roman Empire, the spear became more often used because of its anti-cavalry capacities as the barbarian invasions were often conducted by people with a developed culture of cavalry in warfare.