The sling is a simple projectile weapon consisting of a small pouch attached to two cords, used since prehistory to hurl stones or shaped lead bullets at considerable velocity and range by swinging the pouch and releasing one cord at the moment of throw. Ancient armies including the Assyrians, Greeks and Romans fielded dedicated slinger units, and slingers from the Balearic Islands were especially prized as mercenaries in the Mediterranean world for their accuracy, reportedly trained from childhood by having to knock food from a post before being allowed to eat. A skilled slinger could outrange a contemporary bow and cause serious injury even through basic armor, making the sling a cheap and effective weapon fielded by cultures with few metal resources for more expensive arms.
Facts
Disputed
Introduced YearSling ammunition (slingstones) is reported from the Near East as early as the 6th millennium BC; the oldest surviving physical slings are radiocarbon dated to c. 2500 BC from coastal Peru; the earliest depiction of a slinger in art is from Catalhoyuk, c. 7000 BC. No single origin year is recorded; -2500 used here as the earliest dated surviving physical sling artifact. Weapon Class
Weapon Class (category) Weapon ClassHand-held projectile sling 1 Connections
Associated With
Second Punic War, Wars Balearic slingers, prized mercenaries in Carthaginian service, used the sling to great effect during the Second Punic War
Used In
Source Wikipedia: Sling
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Sling
WikipediaLead paragraph, first sentence
A sling is a projectile weapon typically used to hand-throw a blunt projectile such as a stone, clay, or lead
History section, on the oldest surviving slings
The oldest-known surviving slings-radiocarbon dated to c. 2500 BC-were recovered from South American archaeological sites on the coast of Peru.
- Weapon class classified from the entity's own sourced description text.
- Introduced circa -2500 per the entity's own sourced description text; no pre-1900 weapon system remains in current active military service.
Used In: Spanish Civil War, Wikipedia article text
International Brigades used slings to throw grenades during the Spanish Civil War.
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