THE AGE OF BRONZE 
times, no doubt, it was Just a case of the poor man copying 
the rich man’s bronze battle-ax in a cheaper and more 
easily obtainable material. But from the beginning man- 
kind regarded axes as mysterious weapons imbued with 
magical virtues, so 
they might easily 
have attributed the 
superior power and 
efhicacy.. of, the 
bronze battle-ax as 
a weapon to its 
shape rather than 
to the material of 
which it was made. 
Thus they would 
try to copy the 
former when they 
could not obtain Fic. 88. Bronze ax with wooden helve; to illus- 
trate the manner of hafting. From Switzerland. 
the latter. After Keller 
During the New 
Stone Age men had to content themselves with armor 
made of leather, wickerwork, slats of wood or bone, and 
the like. But the introduction of bronze weapons brought 
with it both the need and the material for better shields, 
helmets, and 
breastplates. 
At first defen- 
sive armor con- 
sisted of little 
more than a 
shield, just as 
with many 
modern tribes 
Of. |. Sana ges. 
Sometimes 
this was round 
Fic. 89. Copper axes and combination ax-adz. From 
Hungary. After Keller and made of 
[27nd 
