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Ancient Warriors: Nine Deadly Weapons Blast From the Past

These nasty weapons come from all over the world, and will definitely amaze you with their fearsome technology and style.

Those ancient warriors may not have been the most subtle fighters around, but they they sure had some bad-ass weapons. I guess for the ancients, desperate times called for desperate measures, as you will see from these murderous military weapons.

  1. Triple Morning Star



    This Ancient Weapon known as the Mace comes from the Medieval Age. This weapon was very deadly and consisted of a wood or metal shaft with a mounted head of bronze, copper, wood, or steel. The mace was carried and used by both foot soldiers and Calvary men. Maces were very effective in battle and could puncture even the heaviest of armor. This was a barbaric weapon and left battlefields filled with torture and blood.
  2. Hawaiian Throwing Axe



    This Hawaiian Throwing Axe was a deadly hand held weapon that could be used at both short and long range. This weapon was made out of wood and shark teeth had the power to take men's limbs off. This weapon was mainly used when opposing Hawaiian armies closed upon each other. They were then thrown at the opposing troops to help soften enemy ranks before close combat. They could also be used in hand to hand combat and had the muscle to rip open skin as if it was butter. This was a very dangerous weapon and is not something you would want to go up against.
  3. Hunga Munga



    The Hunga Munga is an African tribal weapon that is way ahead of its time. It is a handheld weapon and contains a metal pointed blade with a curved back section and separate spike near the handle. This weapon was used in fighting between African tribes and was often times throw in a rotating motion causing deep wounds and even death. Its variation of blades allowed it to be used as more then a weapon. It was used as a tool in farming and even in building structures. It was a great all around tool and has been found all throughout Africa. Today you may have seen the Hunga Munga in the show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Buffy uses it once in a while to fight off evil demons that she faces.
  4. Throwing Star



    The throwing star known as the shuriken which means “a dagger hidden in a palm” were used and invented by the Japanese. The stars had much variation in the shape; some were shaped like a star and thrown with spin, yet others were needlelike and thrown like a throwing dagger. These daggers couldn't penetrate armor, but the ninjas, who used them, usually didn't fight armored opponents. Venom was normally used with the shuriken.
  5. Caltrop



    The Caltrop is a weapon made up of two or more sharp spikes or spines arranged so that one of them points upward from a stable base. Caltrops serve to slow down the proceeding of horses, war elephants, and human troops. It was said to be particularly effective against the soft feet of camels. These were very painful if stepped on and were spread all throughout battle fields. They also were deadly because if stepped on it would cause a bad infection that would cause a slow agonizing death. They also have been used in modern times. In the Vietnam War the Vietcong put them into booby traps. If an American soldier was punctured by one he died from infection almost 90% of the time.
  6. Crossbow Pistol



    This 17th Century Crossbow was way ahead of its time and is very cool. This crossbows look like an early form of a pistol and was very powerful. This hand held crossbow was both accurate and effective but it just was too hard to reload. Because of this it was not used very often in battle and was used more for target practice. Another problem with this weapon was making the arrows which was to time consuming especially if they were just going to get lost in battle. Overall this weapon was still badass and really shows what type of technology and ideas the 17th Century had.
  7. Trebuchet



    A trebuchet is basically a high powered catapult and had many uses in ancient times. Mainly used as a weapon it had enough power to break through castles and destroy towns. It was first used in the 16th Century. Rocks, dead horses, dead people, and dead animals were all used as ammo. In the 16th and 17th Century when plagues and diseases were looming over civilizations plagued bodies were thrown by the trebuchet into enemy territory. The bodies decomposed passing the plague to the enemies slowly killing them. This is one of the first forms of biological warfare.]
  8. Ancient Rocket Launcher



    In the 14th century, the Chinese invented rocket-launchers. These were weapons which shot arrows with rockets attached near the tip into the air toward the enemy. Also in the 14th century, multi-stage rockets were made. When the rockets near the front of the device burnt out, they lit fuses for the second-stage rockets at the back. The bombs the Chinese used in the 17th century were made of gunpowder wrapped in paper and had a fuse covered in gunpowder.
  9. Ancient Flame-Thrower



    The Chinese invented the continuous flame-thrower in the tenth century. In the picture above we see the tank standing on four legs, with the pump and device above it. Because the Chinese invention of a double-acting Piston-bellows was used with this device, a continuous stream of flame could be emitted. The metal used was brass. The Flame-Thrower was used in naval or boat combat and allowed the Chinese to easily set enemy ships on fire and sink them on the spot. It was a great technology and has been used ever since.
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Comments (15)
#1 by ryan, Feb 24, 2008
very kool article keep up the great work
#2 by Andy-N, Feb 25, 2008
This was interesting
#3 by Sotiris, Feb 26, 2008
Interesting article! Thanks!
#4 by Scythe, Feb 26, 2008
I luv the crossbow pistol. If only I had one of those.... *sigh*
#5 by DocJB, Feb 28, 2008
Kenny not spel or punctuate so gud.
#6 by Duncan, Feb 28, 2008
You forgot put in one of the first gunpowder weapons in the world, made by the Chinese. It was basically a gun with a very wide barrel, that was filled with dozens of arrows. When it was fired, the arrows would fly out fast, killing many people with one shot.
#7 by d.maile, Feb 29, 2008
I think you need to make more effort in your research before you start talking about these things. Hawaiians didn't have throwing axes. What you've pictured would be called a leiomano, and it would work like a short-handled axe used for slicing motions. Even this example is more of a modern take on a traditional style of the leiomano.

Hawaiians preferred to use spears and slings for ranged attacks.
#8 by george wilson, Feb 29, 2008
d. maile sounds like a homicidal geek
#9 by tony derda, Mar 18, 2008
no d.maile sounds like he knows what hes talking about! and hes right you should do more research before you present your findings. I live in hawaii and everything d.maile said is true!
#10 by dacia gadson, Apr 8, 2008
flame throwers are cool so is the cross bow pistol!!!
#11 by Shanaque Moaralies, May 7, 2008
hey i noticed that you copied off wikiepdia
good job
i have dedicated my life to studying medieval weapons and none of your information is correct
this is very disrespectful to the men and men that have died in the medieval wars
#12 by Vogon, May 8, 2008
Perhaps "Shanaque Moaralies should" have studied how to write English as well. Very scholarly.
#13 by History, Jul 6, 2008
A lot of info in this article is off.

Crossbows has been in use since 500 BCE, and smaller "pistol crossbows" since 200 BCE.

Trebuchets have been in use in China and Persia since 200 CE, not 1600 CE.. The Mongols used the trebuchets to propel bodies in biological warfare in the 12th-13th century, not the 16th-17th century. By the 16th and 17th century, trebuchets were being replaced by gunpowder cannons and were almost obsolete.

The bombs used in China in the 17th century were not wrapped in paper. Paper bombs were from the 10th century. By the 17th century, the Chinese, Europeans, Russians, and nearly everyone else had iron and steel caste bombs.
#14 by History, Jul 6, 2008
And the so called Hawaiian "throwing axe" isn't a throwing axe. That axe is much too bulky and obviously resembles a hand held melee weapon. Furthermore, thrown axes requires a balanced weight design...and weapon is obviously not.

Furthermore, maces weren't designed to puncture. Maces were blunt weapons designed to smash armor and cause damage through blunt force trama. Blunt weapons are not designed to "puncture."
#15 by B.Robinson., Jul 14, 2008
Just wondered if anyone knew anything about even more ancient/antediluvian weapons, have heard vague rumours about a diamond sword(the diamond was apparently woven into the edge of the blade for obvious effect) reminiscient of katana's. It was found, devoid of it's hilt (just the hilt you understand, the tang was still well preserved.) within a ruined tree. It was supposedly carbon dated and came back with a date which was well nigh prehistoric. This is of great interest to me as the katana/wakazaishi were not fully evolved until at least the mid 1450's or so. Wondered if anyone had more concrete evidence on such a marvellous idea or whether i should consign it firmly to the Highlander box!
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