As said above, in 'Spore', spears are throwing weapons (javelins) and not melee weapons. These are the stone axes and spiked clubs disclosed on another thread. I don't think you need to be a particular 'tech level' to buy them, just have amassed sufficient food supplies. Certainly, intelligence is an issue only in the Creature phase - once you reach full sentience, you also reach Tribal and all tribes are assumed ro be equally intelligent, even if some may act more stupidly than others, unless they really are just animals left over from Creature to be hunted or domesticated. I also think you unlock perks in Tribal as a consequence of the number of rival tribes you've allied or conquered (thus, increased size of your own tribe, to a total of 20 and Civ unlock) rather than size of food dumps. Certainly, in Civ, perks unlock based on the number of cities you hold.
Are natural weapons better than manufactured ones? In Tribal, maybe, maybe not, but certainly not compared to the weaponry available in Civ (tanks, bombers, turrets, etc.), the natural progression from the handheld, personal armaments in Tribal. As said above by Willjam, this illustrates historical continuity and progression.
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