Michael,
Interesting post. We often view antique hand weapons from a romantic view and as works of industrial or ethnic art. However, their application in their untimate intended uses was to lop limbs and bash heads. The wounds must have been very damaging to the body and those who survived certainly carried the mark.
There is an emerging field of Battlefield Archaeology that studies battlefield reminants of all ages. These investigations place weapons use and the results in an historical context of fleah and bone and dirt.
Take care,
Ed
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