Weaponry for archaeologists

This article examines the physio-chemical properties of weapons to provide a framework that archaeologists can use to identify artifacts of war and hunting. Weapons—any object selected or manufactured by hominins to be actively used or intended to be used to injure animals—have functions that are typically based upon or constrained by the simplest laws of physics and the facts of animal or human biology (i.e., physio-chemical properties). Building from an examination of these properties, this paper musters cross-cultural data to understand the form, use, and development of weapon types. Our investigation of shock, fire, and biological weapons highlights that the sequence of invention or adoption of weapons, in general, is highly correlated with increases in effective range.