First marital art.
They probably did some wrestling too.
Wrestling was the first martial art in recorded history and It undoubtedly preceded the existence of swords
“Wrestling was the first martial art in recorded history”
Swords precede recorded history. The use of swords achieved the level of art before wresting—if, indeed, wrestling can be termed an art even today.
“It undoubtedly preceded the existence of swords”
How far back are you willing to go? Are you willing to say that barehanded australopithecine grappling, scratching, and biting was art before the first pre-human picked up a bone and hit somebody over the head with it?
When the chips are down and lives are on the line, armed combat is always chosen over unarmed, unless arms are unavailable to one side. The only unarmed martial arts are those created to give the unarmed a chance against the armed, and wrestling just doesn’t meet that criterion.
It has not been a martial pursuit since the invention of arms, at the latest.
I don’t mean to say that it’s not worthwhile as a discipline or a sport, but it’s not a martial art.
First marital art.
They probably did some wrestling too.