| Revision as of 16:11, 25 February 2008 editDbachmann (talk | contribs)227,714 edits →Europe← Previous edit | Revision as of 16:12, 25 February 2008 edit undoDbachmann (talk | contribs)227,714 edits →EuropeNext edit → | ||
| Line 21: | Line 21: | ||
| ] appears to have Etruscan roots, and is documented in Rome from the ]. | ] appears to have Etruscan roots, and is documented in Rome from the ]. | ||
| The papyrus fragment known as ] (2nd century) is the earliest extant literary description of wrestling techniques. | |||
| ===Middle Ages=== | ===Middle Ages=== | ||
Revision as of 16:12, 25 February 2008
The early history of martial arts is difficult to reconstruct. Inherent patterns of human aggression which inspire practice of mock combat (in particular wrestling) and optimization of serious close combat as cultural universals are doubtlessly inherited from the pre-human stage, and were made into an "art" from the earliest emergence of that concept. Indeed, many universals of martial art are fixed by the specifics of human physiology and not dependent on a specific tradition or era.
Specific martial arts traditions become identifiable in Classical Antiquity, with disciplines such as Gladiatorial combat, Greek wrestling or Pankration.
Early history
The earliest evidence for specifics of martial arts as practiced in the past comes from depictions of fights, both in figurative art and in early literature, besudes analysis of archaeological evidence, especially of weaponry.
The spear has been in use since the Lower Paleolithic and retained its central importance well into the 2nd millennium AD. The bow appears in the Upper Paleolithic and is likewise only gradually replaced by the crossbow, and eventually firearms, in the Common Era. True bladed weapons appear in the Neolithic with the stone axe, and diversify shape in the course of the Bronze Age (khopesh/kopis, sword, dagger)
One very early example is the depiction of wrestling techniques in a tomb of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt at Beni Hasan (ca. 2000 BC). An even earlier depiction of Bronze Age military equipment is depicted on the "war panel" of the Standard of Ur (ca. 2600 BC), which does however not show actual combat.
Literary descriptions of combat begin in the 2nd millennium BC, with cursory mention of weaponry and combat in texts like the Gilgamesh epic or the Rigveda. Detailed description of Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age hand-to-hand combat with spear, sword and shield are found in the Iliad (ca. 8th century BC).
Europe
Main article: Historical European martial arts Further information: History of fencingAntiquity
European martial arts becomes tangible in Greek antiquity with Pankration and other martially oriented disciplines of the Ancient Olympics.
Gladiatorial combat appears to have Etruscan roots, and is documented in Rome from the 260s BC.
The papyrus fragment known as P.Oxy. III 466 (2nd century) is the earliest extant literary description of wrestling techniques.
Middle Ages
Further information: Viking Age arms and armour and HolmgangPictorial sources of medieval combat include the Bayeux tapestry (11th century), the Morgan Bible (13th century).
The earliest extant dedicated martial arts manual is the MS I.33 (ca. 1300), detailing sword and buckler combat.
The Late Middle Ages see the appearance of elaborate fencing systems, such as the German or Italian schools.
Renaissance to Early Modern period
East Asia
South Asia
History of Indian martial arts
Near East
- Persia: Zourkhaneh
This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title History of martial arts.If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.