The history of the machete is ancient and is deeply linked to the evolution of cutting tools over the centuries.
Their origin dates back to prehistoric times, when humans began making cutting tools. Although these early versions were not "machetes" in the modern sense, they do represent the beginning of an evolution that would culminate in them.
Stone tools for cutting, striking, clearing vegetation, hunting, and even for rituals were created by our ancestors more than two million years ago, and although they were not machetes in the strictest sense, many shared similar functional and structural characteristics, which is why they are considered their ancestors, which formed the basis for the consolidation of the modern machete.
Paleolithic hand axes
The main technical antecedent of the machete is the biface, a tool from the Paleolithic period. Lower, especially during the Acheulean culture, developed by Homo erectus between 1.7 million and 200,000 years ago.
They were carved stone tools with an oval or almond shape, sharpened on both sides. They had no handle, but were held by hand and allowed cutting vegetation, hitting bones and manipulating animals.
Its shape and use as a direct cutting tool is seen as one of the technological roots of the machete.
Findings of them were found at the Olduvai (Tanzania), Saint-Acheul (France) and Atapuerca (Spain) sites.
Polished axes and adzes from the Neolithic
Around 10,000 BC, manufacturing techniques were refined, with the first polished tools appearing, carved from hard stone such as jadeite or dolerite and sometimes mounted on wooden handles.
Adzes also appear, with a shape similar to a machete: a wide, straight or slightly curved blade, and a fixed handle.
The oldest, functionally similar to machetes, up to 30 cm long, were found in archaeological sites in the Alps. They were used for clearing vegetation, felling young trees, or as weapons. Their shape is closer to the modern machete than the biface, and their use was common in forestry, jungle, and agricultural settings.
Primitive machetes in the Bronze Age and Iron Age
During this period, primitive machetes emerged from short swords and agricultural knives.
Similar objects have been found in archaeological excavations, particularly in Etruscan, Greek, and Roman tombs, where broad, heavy, blunt blades appear, which were used to cut through dense vegetation or for ritual sacrifice.
Influence in the classical period
Tools such as the Iberian falcata, a heavy, curved sword, shared several characteristics with the machete.
Its wide blade, cutting capacity and frontal weight for striking with force make it one of the most direct technical ancestors of the machete.
The consolidation of the modern Machete in the Middle Ages
During the medieval period, similar cutting tools were developed throughout Europe, and with European colonial expansion, the basic form of the modern machete was consolidated.
During Spanish and Portuguese explorations, soldiers and settlers carried short, wide blades to cut their way through the jungle, especially in the Americas, Africa, and Asia. These blades adapted to the environment, giving rise to the colonial machete, with a straight or slightly curved blade, between 40 and 60 cm long.
A tool with history
The history of the machete doesn't begin with iron; its roots lie in Acheulean bifaces and Neolithic axes, tools that humans developed to survive and adapt to their environment.
This technical evolution has been documented at sites in Africa, Europe, and Asia, culminating, thousands of years later, in metal tools such as the modern machete.
These tools are not only pioneers in their form or function, but also in the logic of their use: cutting, breaking ground, and working the land.
The various types of modern machetes are, in essence, the culmination of an ancient human need. Their evolution reflects the human ability to transform a simple tool into an indispensable object for multiple civilizations.
You can find these and many other Machetes , and much more, in our Medieval Shop.
