When used in formation fighting, spearmen would line up their large rectangular or circular shields in a shieldwall manner. Spears were a preferred weapon by many since it was inexpensive to create, could more easily be taught to others, and could be made quickly and in large quantities. Used by the Maratha Army, it had a rope connecting the spear with the user's wrist, allowing the weapon to be thrown and pulled back.

Some of the most common prey for early humans were megafauna such as mammoths which were hunted with various kinds of spear. The thrusting spear also has the advantage of reach, being considerably longer than other weapon types.The Qiang that were produced in the Song and Ming dynasties consisted of four major parts: Spearhead, Shaft, End Spike and Tassel.

The az-zaġāyah played an important role during the Islamic conquest as well as during later periods, well into the 20th century. The pike phalanx, supported by peltasts and cavalry, became the dominant mode of warfare among the Greeks from the late 4th century onward [16] until Greek military systems were supplanted by the Roman legions. Among the types there are cavalry Qiang that were the length of one zhang (approximately 320cm or 10ft), Litte-Flower Spears (Xiao Hua Qiang 小花枪) that are the length of one person and their arm extended above his head, double hooked spears, single hooked spears, ringed spears and many more.Those infantry not armed with these weapons carried variations on the polearm, including the halberd and the bill. One of the earliest forms of killing prey for humans, hunting game with a spear and spear fishing continues to this day as both a means of catching food and as a cultural activity. Several polearms were used in the Japanese theatres; the naginata was a glaive-like weapon with a long, curved blade popularly among the samurai and the Buddhist warrior-monks, often used against cavalry; the yari was a longer polearm, with a straight-bladed spearhead, which became the weapon of choice of both the samurai and the ashigaru (footmen) during the Warring States Era; the horseback samurai used shorter yari for his single-armed combat; on the other hand, ashigaru infantries used long yari (similar with European pike) for their massed combat formation. Because of the difference in the construction of the Mao and the Qiang, the usage is also different, though there is no definitive answer as to what exactly the differences are between the Mao and the Qiang. A 2012 study from the site of Kathu Pan in South Africa suggests that hominids, possibly Homo heidelbergensis, may have developed the technology of hafted stone-tipped spears in Africa about 500,000 years ago.

Pelian Spear, a spear that only Achilles could wield, inherited from his father Peleus, made by Chiron from an ash tree on Mount Pelion. Berbers pronounced it zaġāya, but the English term, derived from the Old French via Berber, is " assegai". They became popular as infantry weapons during the Warring States and Qin era, when spearmen were used as especially highly disciplined soldiers in organized group attacks. Where spears were retained they grew in length, eventually evolving into pikes, which would be a dominant infantry weapon in the 16th and 17th centuries.When men on horses tried to get by these blocks, they would often be killed by the spears that could poke through the shield walls. The Arab presence in Sindh and the Mameluks of Delhi introduced the Middle Eastern javelin into India.

William Wallace drew up his schiltrons in a circle at the Battle of Falkirk in 1298 to deter charging cavalry; [25] this was a widespread tactic sometimes known as the "crown" formation.Trident, a three-pronged fishing spear associated with a number of water deities, including the Etruscan Nethuns, Greek Poseidon, and Roman Neptune.