Op 18/07/2023 om 23:22 schreef Samuel B.:
> Thomas de Groot <tho### [at] degrootorg> wrote:
>> Op 18-7-2023 om 00:40 schreef Samuel B.:
>>> Thomas de Groot <tho### [at] degrootorg> wrote:
>>>> Op 17-7-2023 om 01:00 schreef Samuel B.:
>>>>> [...] the shape doesn't seem like it was made for stabbing.
>>>>>
>>>> I think those swords were not used for stabbing but chopping.
>>>>
>>>> Maybe this will interest you:
>>>>
https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-trade-blows-in-a-debate-over-whether-ancient-bronze-swords-were-just-for-s
> how
>>>
>>>
>>> Yeah, that is interesting. I wonder why there was any doubt, though. Why make
>>> swords if you weren't going to use them? Were other, better alloys available
>>> during the middle-to-late part of the Bronze Age? (My history knowledge is
>>> somewhat lacking).
>>>
>> I think because there still is a lack of knowledge/understanding about
>> Bronze Age society. There are no accounts or tales; swords are only
>> known in a funeral rite context, so, what to infer? Obviously, those
>> telltale marks on the blades had never been studied properly before
>> (lack of funds and time most probably I guess). Except for variations in
>> the proportions of the basic alloys locally/regionally or for different
>> uses, the bronze seems to have been about identical throughout the
>> period. However, I am no expert on the matter...
>>
>> --
>> Thomas
> 
> Yeah, rigorous studies are always needed, especially when lacking historical
> accounts. Based on my initial research, it seems like the swords were bent or
> otherwise destroyed, possibly to 'kill' the weapon and return it to its owner,
> or keep it or its metals from being used by others. Seems like a waste of
> precious material, but then again we humans are often driven by various (maybe
> illogical) ideals and weird beliefs ;)
> 
> Sam
> 
It probably made a lot of sense at the time. Rites and beliefs were and 
still are the means of knitting together social groups, often in 
opposition to other groups unfortunately. That is the fundamental 
problem social animals like ourselves are born with. Chimps are not 
different in that respect, and herding animals have their own picking 
order and hierarchies. Martians, I have been told, have outgrown the 
problem (which is why they are extinct)... ;-)

-- 
Thomas

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