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Kiribati warrior with coconut fiber armor and shark tooth spear, 1925? (media.kbin.social)
submitted 10 months ago by PugJesus@kbin.social to c/historyporn@lemmy.world
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[-] noughtnaut@lemmy.world 10 points 10 months ago

I'm wondering about the purpose of that, uh, "collar plate"? The vertical thingamajig behind his head.

[-] Rolando@lemmy.world 15 points 10 months ago

It "protects the neck and back of the head".

"The high headguard of the cuirass efficiently protected champions from hits from behind or stones thrown by auxiliaries."

Source: https://www.fg-art.org/en/artwork-of-the-month-archives/the-art-of-armour-in-kiribati

[-] aDuckk@lemmy.world 4 points 10 months ago

This reminds me of a back shield apparently used in some Iroquois wood armour that would similarly provide protection to the neck and head. I guess missiles from your own back-line guys is not an uncommon problem. Get me some of these warriors in the Total War games or Myth: TFL

[-] Rolando@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago

Get me some of these warriors in the Total War games

Thanks for the link about the Iroquois armor, that was fascinating. Having those in TW would be great, though it's too bad we don't know more about their small-unit tactics and historical battles. I imagine they had "heavy infantry" as well as light archers, for example. I wonder if there was an intimidation factor to the back-shield as well, which worked in the same way as the bearskin hats of European grenadiers, to make them look larger.

[-] pancakes@sh.itjust.works 3 points 10 months ago

I wonder if it's strong enough to stop projectiles? Or at least cushion hits that would have otherwise been fatal.

[-] PugJesus@kbin.social 3 points 10 months ago

Protection from projectiles from behind, maybe? Not sure. It would probably be terribly inconvenient to get concussed in the middle of a fight, even if your helmet stopped the projectile.

[-] nieceandtows@programming.dev 6 points 10 months ago

Where is this? The headdress makes me think somewhere near Thailand?

[-] Volkditty@lemmy.world 10 points 10 months ago

Kiribati is a tiny island in the South Pacific, about 2,500 miles due south of Hawaii.

[-] Everythingispenguins@lemmy.world 7 points 10 months ago

Well closer to Thailand than Norway

[-] Anticorp@lemmy.world 5 points 10 months ago

I suppose that's effective if you're only going to encounter other wood and tooth weapons. Not so much against bronze, iron, or steel.

[-] SplashJackson@lemmy.ca 5 points 10 months ago

I think I saw him on Moana

[-] blahsay@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago

Kinda metal. Particularly since I'm guessing he killed that shark himself

this post was submitted on 28 Feb 2024
207 points (99.1% liked)

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