A spear is a pole weapon used for hunting and war, consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a sharpened head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with bamboo spears, or it may be of another material fastened to the shaft, such as obsidian, iron or bronze. The most common design is of a metal spearhead, shaped like a triangle or a leaf.
Spears were one of the most common personal weapons from the Stone Age until the advent of firearms. They may be seen as the ancestor of such weapons as the lance, the halberd, the naginata and the pike. One of the earliest weapons fashioned by human beings and their ancestors, it is still used for hunting and fishing, and its influences can still be seen in contemporary military arsenals as the rifle-mounted bayonet.
Spears can be used as both melee and ballistic weapons. Spears used primarily for thrusting may be used with either one or two hands and tend to have heavier and sturdier designs than those intended exclusively for throwing. Those designed for throwing, often referred to as javelins tend to be lighter and have a more streamlined head, and can be thrown either by hand or with the assistance of a spear thrower such as the atalatl or woomera.
Archeological evidence documents that wooden spears were used for hunting at least 400,000 years ago. However, wood does not preserve well. Craig Stanford, a primatologist and professor of anthropology at the University of Southern California, has suggested that the discovery of spear use by chimpanzees probably means that early humans used wooden spears as well, perhaps five million years ago.
Neanderthals were constructing stone spear heads from as early as 300,000 BP. By 250,000 years ago wooden spears were made with fire-hardened points. From 200,000 BP Middle Paleolithic humans began to make complex stone blades which were used as spear heads. At these times there was still a clear difference between spears designed to be thrown and those designed to be used in hand to hand combat.
Short one handed spears used with a shield, were used by the earliest Bronze Age cultures for either single combat or in large formations. This tradition continued from the first Mesopotamian cultures through the Egyptian dynasties to the Ancient Greek city states. The Greek doru was used in large battle formations, called phalanges (sg. phalanx), to maximize its effectiveness. Both Phillip of Macedon and Alexander the Great continued this tradition using the very long two handed Sarissa to great effect. The use of the spear with two hands dropped out of European fashion from the Roman period until development of the Pike in the Middle Ages. The Roman legions contained soldiers who used the shield and spear, the Triarii and originally the Principes were armed with a short spear called a hasta however these gradually fell out of use to be eventually replaced by the Gladius. However even these troops carried the pilum which was specifically designed to be thrown at an enemy to pierce and foul a target's shield. During this time the spear was also used by cavalry however usually with two hands partly due to the lack of stirrups. The use of a spear by a heavily armored soldier from horseback (known as Cataphracts) was first developed by nomadic eastern Iranian tribes and spread throughout the ancient world.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, the use of the short gladius declined but the spear and shield continued to be used by almost all cultures. The javelin was also used both by infantry and from horseback, especially in Spain and North Africa.
Since a Medieval spear required only a small amount of steel along the sharpened edges (most of the spear-tip was wrought iron), it was an economical weapon. Quick to manufacture, and needing less smithing skill than a sword, it became the common weapon of the peasantry in many parts of the world. The Vikings, for instance, are often portrayed with battle axe or sword in hand — but most were armed with spears, as were their Saxon, Irish, or Continental foes. The spear also has the advantage of reach — being considerably longer than other weapon types. Spear tips varied between types strictly for stabbing and others with longer blades which could also slice (unarmored) foes effectively.
With the rise of heavily armored knights in the medieval age, spear shafts began to be planted against the ground to deter charging cavalry. Tactics, such as the schiltron, made use of massed spears in this way. Spears began to grow in length, eventually morphing into pikes as mounted knights became more important on the battlefields of Europe and a means to counter them needed.
The lance, a form of spear gripped at the base and wielded with one hand, was developed to be used from horseback. Cavalry spears had been used before, often with two hands or held with one hand overhead, but in the days before stirrups, a spear hitting a target could easily unhorse the man holding it. After the adoption of stirrups to hold the rider in the saddle, the spear became a decidedly more powerful weapon. A mounted knight would secure the lance by holding with one hand and tucking it under the armpit (the couched lance technique). This allowed all the momentum of the horse and knight to be focused on the weapon's tip whilst still retaining accuracy and control. This use of the spear spurred the development of the lance as a distinct weapon which was perfected in the medieval sport of jousting.
The development hi of both the long, two handed pike and gunpowder in renaissance Europe saw an ever increasing focus on infantry over lance-armed cavalry. During this period many different variations on the pole-arm were developed including the halberd and the bill, again used in a similar way to a spear and designed to break through the heavy armor then worn by knights. Ultimately, the spear proper was rendered obsolete on the battlefield. As muskets became more accurate and reliable, the bayonet was devised to provide musket-men with an ersatz spear capability.
A spear was a relatively low cost weapon or tool compared to other weapons available in pre-industrial societies. In this period, when metals and the ability to work them were expensive, the spear was seen as "cost effective". The steel required for a sword, for example, would be sufficient to make several spear heads. A spear not only takes less metal, but does not require the same quality of material, the same amount of time, or the same level of skill to manufacture; the result is still a weapon of potentially lethal effect.
Spears vary greatly in function depending upon the length of the shaft, weight and size of the point and location of the grip. Generally though, a spear is relatively easy to use. Again, in comparison with other weapons in the periods of the spear's widest use, a spear requires less training and practice to wield effectively (though not necessarily expertly), notably for formation use since its thrusting techniques minimize disruption to teammates on either side. Modern experiments by reenactors have shown that a group of people can be trained to use spears in an effective shield wall as militia in a few weeks of part-time training.
In addition to being a cheap, relatively easy to wield weapon that could be quickly manufactured and used in large numbers, often at a considerable distance from the target, a spear in experienced hands is also fast and lethal. In addition, spears can be easily made with the correct resources, such as a sharp piece of rock, a material for binding - such as rubber - and a cylindrical object to be used as a haft.
Spears, although apparently simple weapons, have a remarkable variety of wielding methods. Some are listed here from most passive to most active motions.
This versatility led to the continued use of spears, in the form of pikes, for many years even after the invention of firearms.
More than a weapon, a spear may be a symbol of power. In the Chinese martial arts community, the Chinese spear (Qiang 槍) is popularly known as the "king of weapons". In ancient Greece it was a yoke of spears that had to be borne when submitting to an enemy. The Celts would symbolically destroy a dead warrior's spear to prevent its use by another.
Livy records that the Romans and their early enemies would force prisoners to walk underneath a 'yoke of spears', which humiliated them. It has been surmised that this was because such a ritual involved the prisoners' warrior status being taken away. In the early Roman armies the first two lines of battle, the hastati and principes, fought with swords, while the elite triarii who formed the final line fought with spears.
Odin's spear (called Gungnir) was of ashwood, made from the "World-Tree" Yggdrasil. Chiron's wedding-gift to Peleus when he married the nymph Thetis, was also an ashen spear as the nature of ashwood with its straight grain made it an ideal choice of wood for a spear.
Also in Greek Mythology Zeus' bolts of lightning can be interpreted as a symbolic spear, and some would carry that into the spear that is frequently associated with Athena, interpreting her spear as a symbolic connection to some of Zeus' power beyond the Aegis.
Another spear of religious significance was the Spear of Destiny, an artifact believed by some to have vast mystical powers.
Sir James George Frazer in The Golden Bough noted the phallic nature of the spear and suggested that in the Arthurian Legends the spear or lance functioned as a symbol of male fertility, paired with the Grail (as a symbol of female fertility).