Double Axes II: Is History Weirder Than Fantasy? (Not so Stupid After All)

Watch part 1 first: Are Double Axes REALLY That Stupid? (Reply to Shadiversity)
• Are Double Axes REALLY...
What we armchair enthusiasts think about realism and practicality is one thing, but what about real-life historical people? What did they consider practical? Well, intentions are hard to deduce, especially the further back in time you go, but we can at least look at available evidence.
Did double headed axes exist for real? Yes. They weren't common by any means, but there are some archaeological finds, mentions in ancient texts, and depictions in medieval imagery. Let's take a closer look... Some of these will probably surprise you with how strange they seem.
If you expect double-edged Viking axes you'll be disappointed... but ironically they did exist in what is now Scandinavia, just made of stone, and much earlier (Neolithic / Chacolithic).
** Sources **
Neolithic / chalcolithic stone / copper axes
www.ancient-or...
www.megalithic...
tinyurl.com/ch...
www.catawiki.c...
www.britishmus...
Minoan bronze axe heads
www.metmuseum....
www.salimbeti.c...
www.metmuseum....
www.pilotguide...
www.diva-porta...
antiquatedanti...
Another great example of a functional double bitted tool with evidence of wear from use
www.britishmus...
About Minoan religion
tinyurl.com/mi...
www.degruyter....
Luristani bronze axe-adze hybrid
www.liveauctio...
Other examples from ancient Greece
www.salimbeti.c...
Scythian axe head
www.metmuseum....
Alani axes
neolitica.ru/in...
English auto-translation from Russian
translate.goog...
Crimean examples
swordmaster.or...
Byzantine axes
protostrator.b...
Great source for medieval imagery
manuscriptmini...
Double halberd, 1600
www.metmuseum....
French halberd, 17th century
www.metmuseum....
French halberd, 1712
www.metmuseum....
Indo-Persian ceremonial or battle axes (uncertain)
www.militariah...
www.oriental-ar...
Fascinating all-steel axe with hidden stiletto
www.metmuseum....
From the Sudan
auctionsimperi...
www.ashokaarts...
Various types from China
wukong.toutiao...
The Fang Tian Ji
zh.wikipedia.o...
Native American finds
www.bradfordsa...
www.liveauctio...
Roman historian Quintus Curtius
www.loebclassi...
18thC Spanish war axe (potentially questionable source)
www.liveauctio...
** Music **
Outtakes:
"Little People At Work" by Horrorpen
opengameart.or...
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license (CC BY 3.0)
Outro:
"Highland Storm" by The Slanted Room Records
theslantedroom...
Used with artist's permission
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