Skip to main content

Did Cavemen have Armies?

Well not 'cavemen' but specifically neolithic humans. Did they use armies?  When did organized warfare start and how organized were the soldiers?  What weapons did they have and for what reason would they fight wars?

As a miniature gamer, I am interested in military history.  I found this interesting article on the interwebs and thought I'd repost it here.  It is a draft of an article by historian Arther Ferrill. It tries to start a discussion about some of this questions. It is a short read and I hope you enjoy it.

Neolithic Warfare by Arther Ferrill
Labels:

Comments

  1. Kaptain KoboldApril 28, 2013 at 8:18 PM

    Very interesting read.

    Metagaming did a game called 'Sticks and Stones' many years ago which covered neolithic warfare, albeit at a fairly small scale. And I can see HOTT or DBA probably giving a game of the right scale or feel, although maybe less so for the actions around fortifications.

    ReplyDelete
  2. HoldFastApril 28, 2013 at 9:25 PM

    I imagine a possible HotT Neolithic army would be..
    Hero General (chieftan) @ 4 AP
    Magician (shaman) @ 4 AP
    2x Shooters (slingers) @ 4 AP
    2x Warband (foot soldiers w stone hatchets) @ 4 AP
    8x Hordes (slaves or soldiers w clubs) @ 8 AP

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kaptain KoboldApril 29, 2013 at 12:30 AM

      That would certainly be a viable fantasy version. For a more 'historical' variant I'd lose the Hero and Magician, and go for more Warband:

      1 x Warband General
      8 x Warband (Warriors with axe or spear)
      2 x Shooters (With slings or spear-throwers)
      2 x Hordes (Women, children, elderly and slaves)

      Its opponent would be the same :)

      I'd possibly swap one Warband for a Beast (dogs), although at the scale of warfare we're depicting they are probably best just included as part of the Warband elements.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Blog is going on a Permanent Vacation

Ok, I haven't had any comments on this blog on an post for many, many months. The only post that seems to get any traffic is my 2015 post about Star Fleet Battles.  I don't fully understand why that post has generated so much interest, while the rest of my content has been mostly ignored.  Clearly, this has not been an successful blog. I get much more traffic with my Facebook content and the YouTube channel is showing promise. Perhaps the subjects of my posts have been too random. I may need to focus on a specific game or subject. Maybe I didn't generate enough posts to keep the audience connected. Whatever the case, I am ending this blog with this final post.  I'm calling it a 'permanent vacation' because the blog and posts will still be here, though I will not be adding any new content. I might continue to comment on the SFB post since that is still generating traffic 3 years after it was published. To anyone who might still be reading, I say 'Thank...
2 comments
Read more

Gulf Strike - Turns 20, 21 and 22

The "Soviet-Persian War" continues using the Gulf Strike rules . The fighting continues as both sides suffer from limited supply points. Turn 20 - US/Iran still have the initiative In the Air: US F-111 aircraft start bombing missions from Konark air bases. They hit the Soviets around Karmanshah in an effort to help the Iranian defenses. B-52s bomb stacks of Soviets around Karmanshah. Soviet Backfire bombers hit an Iranian hovercraft flotilla in port and sink it. The flotilla did not represent any strategic importance, except to help Soviets gain the initiative by counting more hits. On Land: SpecOps use Long Range Recon Patrols to help B-52s and F-111s hit Soviet targets at Karmanshah. Soviet Mechanized Divisions have Karmanshah surrounded and continue the assault despite US air support. At Sea: BB Wisconsin begins bombardment of the Yemen base to allow US carrier task group to pass the Arabian peninsula safely. Yemen base launches Su-24 bombers to intercept the BB a...
Post a Comment
Read more

Glider Rifle Company

I've started my new 15mm WW2 army for Flames of War . Even though some of the local players have decided to stop playing FoW, I still believe there is a lot of life left in this game. Even if they are correct, I seriously doubt that WW2 games in 15mm will go away any time soon. Case in point; my friend Dale has decided to purchase the rulebook for the excellent game I Ain't Been Shot Mum . He asked me if I'd be willing to learn the game with him and I agreed. I've played the game before and discussed it in this earlier post. This game provides a bit more realism than Flames of War and there are times when I really enjoy the gritty details of a serious wargame. So, we've setup a goal for each of us to paint up an army. I will build a US Glider Rifle Company and Dale will do a German PanzerGrenadier Company. I've purchased a box of the plastic US Infantry from The Plastic Soldier Company. They are great sculpts for the price. The only trick will be to figure o...
6 comments
Read more