It's not surprising at all everything we do we must have a way to make it deadly, we always looking for new ways to kill our fellow men all because we want to be feared.
An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life.
- Robert A. Heinlein
I find it interesting how different cultures have very different designs of melee weapons. From scimitars from the Middle East, kukris from Nepal, medieval weapons such as morningstars, war hammers and flails, Japanese katanas, the list is exhaustive. Also many weapons were designed with specific warriors in mind - heavy, bludgeoning weapons for large, strong soldiers, and lighter, sharper weapons for the more nimble fighters.
Similar to modern weaponry, it seems that war has always been a catalyst for new and experimental technology. I'm sure that even in ancient times, the manufacturers of the best weapons would have been very well paid.
It's worth mentioning that ranged weapons, such as spears and longbows, would have been a significant technological advantage (both for hunting and war) when they were developed, and may have significantly changed history.
However, more recently the saying "the pen is mightier than the sword" is certainly becoming truer than ever. While originally the pen was literally writing and drawing propaganda, in these modern times the pen is a metaphor for the video camera. And its moving pictures can be spread within moments across the entire globe, edited to follow certain agendas and ideologies.
What's more, we are currently in an era where a computer and webcam have huge amounts of power and influence, I'd go so far as to say the keyboard may be the next evolution in handheld weaponry. Here's an example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohmajJTcpNkI dont think pen (or camera) makes good comparison. Men argued each other since dawn of time, tools of war were then employed where agreement failed. Just as camera is complementary to the word of mouth, assault rifle is complementary to the kukri or indeed hatchet.
Yes, research of historical weapons is as rewarding as study of religion systems. Both, reflected mindsets of the people, who used them.
Remarkably, men-at-arms - easpecially in Europe in middle East often took both sharp and bludgeoning weapons. As did weapons evolve, so did armor in evolution of combat. You cant cut through plate armor, but you might be able to crush it. Yet, unarmored opponent with sword will have far more reach, than your war hammer. - so you need armor too.