weapons in mesopatomia

A mace is a wooden club with a head of some hard and heavy material fastened to it. Stone suggested itself to ancient weaponmakers: it was easily available and could be shaped with proven techniques. Some of the oldest weapons used by man, clubs are easily fashioned from branches. Strong and shock absorbing, wood is an almost perfect material for making many implements, weapons among them. Its lightness on the other hand is a drawback when the intention is to hit ones opponent over the head with it in order to crack his skull. The attempt to overcome this by widening the business end of the club was only partially successful. Even in a culture as peaceful as pre-dynastic Egypt - peaceful that is compared to more warlike regions like Mesopotamia, where internecine conflict was almost constant from earliest times - clubs gave way to maces, which could do a much better job at smashing skulls.