A weapon is a tool used either in hunting, or attack or defence in combat for the purpose of subduing enemy personnel, or to destroy enemy weapons, equipment and defensive structures through application of force. A weapon is therefore a mechanical device that changes the direction or magnitude of a force. In general, they can be defined as the simplest mechanisms that use mechanical advantage (also called leverage) to multiply force.

In attack, weapons may be used to threaten by direct contact or by use of projectiles. Weapons can be as simple as a club, or as complex as an intercontinental ballistic missile. Metaphorically anything capable of being used to damage, even psychologically, can be referred to as a weapon. More recently, development of non-lethal weapon systems has been adopted for para-military, security and even combat use, designed to incapacitate personnel and reduce collateral damage to property and environment.

History

Prehistoric weapons

The earliest and most primitive weapons were the by-products of early human hunting – claws, teeth and horns of hunted animals, shaped or adapted for use as weapons. Stone axes were used as weapons very early in human history as personal weapons of direct attack, and as a particular type of simple tool that made up for comparative lack of natural weapons, such as claws, horns and teeth, in the human physiology.

The first human use of weapons is not easy to date, as these would probably have been wooden clubs, spears and unshaped stones thrown at prey or enemyand none of these would leave an unambiguous record.

The earliest examples found are a cache of eight wooden throwing spears, the Schöninger Speere, which have been dated as 400,000 years ago.

By 250,000 years ago wooden spears were made with fire-hardened points. From 80,000 years ago humans began to make complex stone blades, which were used as spear points.

Bows and arrows may have been used by 60,000 years ago

Ancient world weapons

Ancient weapons were in many ways qualitative improvements of the late prehistoric versions, with significant improvement in materials and techniques used, that created the first revolutions in military technology. Light, horse-drawn chariots for use in battle appeared with the invention of the spoked wheel. The earliest spoke-wheeled chariots date to ca. 2000 BC and their usage peaked around 1300 BC (see Battle of Kadesh). Chariots ceased to have military importance in the 4th century BC, as horses were bred to support the weight of a man, and chariotry (the part of a military force that fought from chariots) gave way to cavalry.

Weapons of the Middle Ages