Editing Spear (section)

==Hunting==
{{Expand section|date=March 2010}}
[[File:Spear fishing Peru cropped.jpg|thumb|Peruvian fisherman [[spearfishing]] with a multi-pronged spear]]
One of the earliest forms of killing prey for humans, hunting game with a spear and [[spear fishing]] continues to this day as both a means of catching food and as a cultural activity. Some of the most common prey for early humans were [[megafauna]] such as [[mammoth]]s which were hunted with various kinds of spear. One theory for the [[Quaternary extinction event#Hunting hypothesis|Quaternary extinction event]] was that most of these animals were hunted to extinction by humans with spears. Even after the invention of other hunting weapons such as the [[Bow and arrow|bow]] and [[Sling (weapon)|sling]], the spear continued to be used, either as a projectile weapon or used by hand, such as in [[bear hunting]] and [[boar hunting]].

===Types===
[[File:Boar Spear MET 14.25.305 006jan2015.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.5|A boar-spear with a bar]]
* Barred spears: A barred spear has a crossbar beneath the blade, to prevent too deep a penetration of the spear into an animal. The bar may be forged as part of the spearhead or may be more loosely tied by means of loops below the blade. Barred spears are known from the Bronze Age, but the first historical record of their use in Europe is found in the writings of [[Xenophon]] in the 5th century BC.<ref>{{cite book |title=Hunting Weapons from the Middle Ages to the Twentieth Century |last=Blackmore |first=Howard|year=2003 |publisher=Dover |isbn= 978-0-486-40961-0|pages= 83–4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XnnlOcLAnBIC&q=medieval+boar+spears&pg=PA90 |access-date=1 March 2010}}</ref> Examples also are shown in Roman art. In the Middle Ages, a winged or lugged war-spear was developed ([[#Infantry|see above]]), but the later Middle Ages saw the development of specialised types, such as the boar-spear and the bear-spear.<ref>Blackmore (2003), pp.88–91</ref> The boar-spear could be used both on foot or horseback.
* [[Javelin]]
* [[Harpoon]]
* [[Trident]]

===Modern revival===
Spear hunting fell out of favor in most of Europe in the 18th century, but continued in Germany, enjoying a revival in the 1930s.<ref>Blackmore (2003), pp92-3.</ref> Spear [[hunting]] is still practiced in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://huntingwithspears.com/ |title = Spear Hunting Museum > Home |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120709213642/http://huntingwithspears.com/ |archive-date=9 July 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Animals taken are primarily wild [[boar]] and [[deer]], although trophy animals as large as [[Cape Buffalo]] have been hunted with spears. [[Alligator]]s are hunted in [[Florida]] with a type of [[harpoon]].

In underwater settings, the practice of [[sport fishing]] with [[Speargun|spearguns]] is also quite prominent. The invention of the speargun is attributed to either Alec Kramarenko in the mid-1930s<ref>{{Cite web |title=Alec Kramarenko {{!}} American inventor {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alec-Kramarenko |access-date=2025-02-13 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> or [[Georges Beuchat]] in 1947.