Discoveries

March 10, 2023

Ancient Ballistics

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Archaeologists have discovered hundreds of small, triangular stone points at the Grotte Mandrin cave in southwestern France, where early humans are believed to have lived 54,000 years ago.

The find suggests that early modern humans – or Homo sapiens – used more advanced hunting tools earlier than previously thought, Smithsonian Magazine reported.

In their study, a research team wrote that it suspected the stones were arrowheads, especially because of signs of damage. To test this theory, they created replica weapons with flint tips and fired them at a goat carcass.

The tests showed that the tips could easily pierce the animal’s skin when used as arrows. But they bounced off the carcass when they were thrown as spears.

Researchers noted that there was no evidence of any bows in the cave, but that’s likely because the materials used to make them – wood, leather and fibers, for example – degrade over time.

Previous research found that archery was used in Europe around 12,000 years ago, but the new findings push that back by more than 40,000 years.

The authors explained that the study also offers some new insights about Grotte Mandrin: The cave is a unique site because past research suggests that it was used by both early humans and the extinct Neanderthals throughout different time periods.

Though Neanderthals may have seen early humans use bows and arrows, it appears our close relatives did not adopt their use and instead continued to use stone-tipped spears that needed close contact with their intended target.

This story originally appeared in the March 10, 2023 newsletter, He Said, She Said.