Sling (weapon)

The term sling refers to a weapon used to send a projectile at an enemy.^[1]

In the Christian Bible David uses a simple sling to defeat his larger and more heavily armed enemy Goliath, in a symbolic single combat.^[1]^[2] In today's art this sling is depicted as a pouch, with two straps, designed to hold a pebble. The straps enable to the slinger to rapidly rotate the stone, in order to let it go, at high speed, when it is aimed in the direction of the enemy.

Slingers also used a longer range sling, where a larger stone was used, in a pouch, at the end of two longer straps, which were, in turn, attached to the end of a staff.^[1] The slinger would lay their projectile in the pouch, step forward, swinging the staff above their head.

While the accuracy of an individual slinger could be low, accuracy during warfare became less important, when a massed array of skilled slingers, all slung a projectile in the general direction of an enemy column, at the same time.^[1]

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 Thom Richardson. "The Ballistics of The Sling". Slinging.org. Retrieved 2026-04-23. The inhabitants of the Balearic Islands are said to be the first to discover the use of slings, and to have practised with such expertise that their mothers did not let their small sons touch any food unless they had hit it with a sling stone. Often, against soldiers armoured with helmets, scale coats and mail shirts, smooth stones shot from a sling or staff sling are more dangerous than arrows, since while leaving the limbs intact they inflict a lethal wound, and the enemy dies from the blow of the stone without the loss of any blood’ (I.16). ‘They should also be accustomed to rotating the sling only once around the head, when the stone is discharged from it’ (II.23).
↑ Erich B. Anderson (2022-12-15). "Learning from David and Goliath: The True Origin of the Sling Weapon". Warfare History Network. Retrieved 2026-04-23. Since it is one of the simplest ranged weapons to construct, the earliest evidence of a sling weapon has been dated back to 10,000 B.C.. Ancient warriors typically used animal hides and plant fibers to make the pouch, while hair or sinews were used for the cord. The earliest ammunition was even easier to find because smooth stones were readily available along streams, lakes, rivers, and oceans.

[SlingOrg-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 Thom Richardson. "The Ballistics of The Sling". Slinging.org. Retrieved 2026-04-23. The inhabitants of the Balearic Islands are said to be the first to discover the use of slings, and to have practised with such expertise that their mothers did not let their small sons touch any food unless they had hit it with a sling stone. Often, against soldiers armoured with helmets, scale coats and mail shirts, smooth stones shot from a sling or staff sling are more dangerous than arrows, since while leaving the limbs intact they inflict a lethal wound, and the enemy dies from the blow of the stone without the loss of any blood’ (I.16). ‘They should also be accustomed to rotating the sling only once around the head, when the stone is discharged from it’ (II.23).

[WarfareHistory2022-12-15-2] Erich B. Anderson (2022-12-15). "Learning from David and Goliath: The True Origin of the Sling Weapon". Warfare History Network. Retrieved 2026-04-23. Since it is one of the simplest ranged weapons to construct, the earliest evidence of a sling weapon has been dated back to 10,000 B.C.. Ancient warriors typically used animal hides and plant fibers to make the pouch, while hair or sinews were used for the cord. The earliest ammunition was even easier to find because smooth stones were readily available along streams, lakes, rivers, and oceans.

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[2]

See also

References