Like Barry, I was an early Edgar Rice Burroughs Tarzan fan, soon followed by Jon Carter of Mars, Conan and many others, all often thrown in together as "Swords and Sorcery"....it was through early Conan literature that I picked up on the fact that all of his fantastic peoples were actually drawn from history and pre-history.
By having some Native American ancestry, I was drawn to spears, shields, knives and axes first, then, later to swords with firearms being my least favorite weapons to this day.
As to snakes, it's only in western civilization that they have evil connotations, with most of the rest of the world revering them.
Even in art, weapons are often paramount in statuary and paintings, plus many bladed pieces are indeed works of art unto themselves.
Very well put questions, particualrly in regards to the "lowly blade".
Mike
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