Endless war: The rise of our mania for weaponry
When did humans start fighting wars? Is war part of human nature and, therefore, inevitable? A new exhibition at a Vienna provides vital archaeological perspectives on an age-old question.
The might — and stupidity — of the sword
"The stupidity of people seems limitless," says Anton Kern, director of the prehistoric department of the NHM Vienna that is tracing the evolution of weapons of war. "This is proven by their desire for ever better weapons since the Stone Age." Pictured is the rise of the sword as a weapon of war from the flint and stone spears of prehistory through to mythical Excalibur-like models and beyond.
Clubbed to death
In the Neolithic period, everyday tools including stone axes and axes (pictured from Austria and the Czech Republic from 5,300-3,300 BC) were converted into weapons of war during conflicts. It is believed that stone clubs are the oldest human weapons used as a mode of defence or attack.
Like a hole in the head
The skull of a 20- to 30-year-old man with a hole in the frontal lobe that could have been inflicted by a wooden club. It comes from the oldest battlefield in Europe in northern Germany on the Tollensee River dating back some 3,200 years. Recent research shows that thousands of warriors took part in the Bronze Age battle with myriad spears, swords and clubs crafted from flint, bronze or metal.
The Thirty Years' War
This engraving of the 1632 Battle of Lützen in Saxony by the artist Merian shows the mass employment of fire arms on the front line nearly 400 years ago. Among those killed by gun fire in the brutal battle was Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus. Though his Protestant side ultimately won the fight, the religious war ended up killing some 8 million people, most in current-day Germany.
Early modern firearms
The musem team positions 2,700 lead bullets fired from early pistols, carbines and muskets that were discovered on the Lützen battlefield from one of the largest battles of the Thirty Years' War that killed some 22 thousand people. Many of those killed bore gunshot wounds and blows to the skull, the head being the prime target in the attacks, with injuries to the body being comparatively rare.
Unknown soldiers
Human remains found at the Lützen battle site revive the lives of unknown soldiers who were unceremoniously thrown into mass graves. The 47 soldiers on display that were discovered in 2011 were analyzed using new forensic techniques to reconstruct as much detail as possible about the victims' stories and causes of death — around half of the men aged between 15 and 50 died from gunshot wounds.