The next stage in the evolution of warfare (400BC-900AD) saw the rise of infantry as the dominant force on the battle field, well trained and disciplined infantry could deal with chariots by remaining steady in the face of a charge or opening their ranks to let the chariots through and then attacking them. The chariot represented the shock element in the armies of the day.
During this period armies started to develop and the king of the battle was the chariot. A good example of this period is that of ancient Egypt and the ancient kingdoms of the Middle East such as the Hittites. Clearly as Stone Age societies began warfare, the next stage of warfare became collective and systemized, where large kingdoms developed and waged war for prestige and to gain land and resources including slaves. So what does explain the advent of war? Archeological evidence offers several explanations including large regional populations that increased competition more anchored living that prevented people from moving away from conflict social structures such as clans that provided flexible frameworks for splitting into “us” and “them” the emergence of a distinct political elite with its own interests trade in goods that provided something to fight over and ecological reverses such as droughts or large-game extinction. Some archaeologists claim the first act of homo sapiens on the world stage was that of genocide with the systematic destruction of the Neanderthals although there is no suggestion of an organized war effort, evidence points to small scale conflict slowly driving the physically stronger Neanderthals into less favorable areas for survival as they were defeated by the homo sapiens who although weaker and less well adapted to the northern European climate could communicate and unite to gain dominance of better settlement areas. The evolution of ancient close-combat armaments shows both continuity and change, depending on the given set of military conditions.įrom the very beginning of our species history we have waged war. The circular or pendular way a particular type or style of weapon gained popularity in antiquity, was superseded by a new innovation, and then returned centuries or millennia later in a slightly modified form indicates that the evolution of ancient weaponry was sometimes an evolution of circumstances surrounding its use as much as the physical substance of the weapon. 200 BC were roughly the same size and had the same use. 2500 BC and the dory used by the phalanx armies of Classical Greece at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC served a similar purpose. The thrusting spears used by Eanatum of Lagash in Mesopotamia c. Despite the changes and improvements that spanned the ages from Hammurabi to Hadrian, the basic implements of warfare remained somewhat consistent. The technology and materiel of warfare changed from prehistoric times to the fall of the Roman Empire due to improvements in metallurgy and compounding ingenuity over the millennia.
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