The spear was humanity’s first weapon and became one of the earliest human inventions.

Some researchers consider the spear to be the ancestor of all weapons. Over time, its appearance changed very little. Only the material from which spears were made was modernized.

In ancient times, there were two types of spears: throwing spears and spears for close combat.

A typical spear consisted of a wooden shaft and a metal tip, the shape of which could vary.

In the Stone Age, spearheads were mostly wooden or stone. The earliest spears had sharpened ends of branches, which were hardened by fire. Later, the tips were made of stone and bone, attached to the shaft with strips of leather, plant stems, or glued with resin. With the advent of the metal age, first bronze, and then metal tips appeared.

Spear tips from the Jurchen period are typically divided into five types, differentiated by the shape of the blade. One of these types is the combined laurel leaf-shaped tip, which is featured in the exhibition.

Combined spears are versatile and have no analogs in Siberia and the Amur region. The shape of their blade is almost indistinguishable from the blades of more simple spears. However, these spears have additional features — a hook or a knife. Such a device was designed to pull a rider off a horse.

Combined spears were used exclusively in warfare. According to researchers, they could only belong to reliable and distinguished guardsmen, as well as personal bodyguards of state officials and professional soldiers who were supplied at the expense of the state treasury. First of all, spears were in the arsenal of the aristocratic elite, who made up the strike forces of the army, but they could also be possessed by ordinary warriors. Lighter spears were intended for foot soldiers, while larger and more massive ones were for cavalry.

The example of combined spears demonstrates that the development of weapons among the Jurchens aimed at versatility. The combination of various functions in one weapon is a progressive step of the Jurchen gunsmiths.