In the Iliad (much more recent than this sword, but nonetheless informative in some ways), swords are symbolic of nothing. The text is very clear on what the symbol of royal authority is -- it's a club. ("Scepter")
I'd be pretty comfortable with the idea that clubs are no more recent than weapons in general.
Yes, even until the Hellenistic era, the weapon of virtue and honour was... the spear.
As exemplified by the poetic sense of a conqueror's demense: his spear-won land.
However, other peoples from deep antiquity held sword to higher regard. Like the Celts and Germans. Especially the Germanic tribes, who couldn't make their own swords and need to win them in trade or raid.
Also IIRC, samurai initially prized archery and the spear over using a sword as marks of their noble status - melee combat with a blade for a samurai was a sign of desperation born of ineptitude with "proper" weapons and tactics. It wasn't until the Edo period when the samurai were relegated to a bureaucracy that the cult around the katana was formed, and sort of retroactively applied to the popular interpretation of history.
I'd be pretty comfortable with the idea that clubs are no more recent than weapons in general.