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Warmatrix

War Matrix - Club

Prehistory 35000 BCE - 3500 BCE, Weapons and technology

Aboriginal club
Aboriginal club
The club may well be the oldest weapon of all. A simple tree branch can serve as a club, however crude. Crafted clubs are polished for a better grip and less wear and tear, and balanced for better strikes.
Most clubs are rather short and light, so as not to become too unwieldy. When heavy damaging power is necessary, the head is often reinforced and the weapon becomes a mace. Another way of increasing damage is to have nails stick out of the head - the spiked club or "morning star". But clubs are also made more dangerous in the simplest way, by making them longer and heavier, up to the point where they need to be wielded with two hands.
In most societies, a club is a weapon for the poorest of the poor. But in hunting-gathering societies with no access to metalworking, the club is a common weapon. Hunters use balanced clubs which can be used both to strike and to throw.