Archaeological sites in France, which were temporarily inhabited by modern humans, are littered with stone tips that were probably used as arrowheads, indicating that bows and arrows were in use in Europe much earlier than thought. shows that
human
February 22, 2023
Reproduction of flint-headed arrows, such as those found at the Grotte Mandolin in France Ludwig Srimak
Bows and arrows were first used in Europe much earlier than previously thought. More than 100 arrowheads have been found in rock shelters that were temporarily used by a group of modern humans in the early forays into Neanderthal territory 54,000 years ago.
Laure Metz of the University of Aix-Marseille in France said, “It’s incredible to have this many.
Metz is part of a team excavating a rock shelter called the Grotte Mandolin in Southern France. The shelter was first used by Neanderthals over 80,000 years ago and then by modern humans about 45,000 years ago. This is around the time modern humans expelled the Neanderthals across Europe.
But last year, the team reported that the grotte mandolin was used as a hunting camp by a small group of modern humans for 40 years, about 54,000 years ago. I came from.
In the strata from this era, Metz and her colleagues now report finding more than 1,000 small stony dots about one to two centimeters long. Of these, approximately 100 arrowheads were either broken or complete arrowheads due to one or more signs of impact damage similar to those seen when the team used newly-made stone tips as arrowheads. identified as. Others may also be arrowheads, but researchers aren’t sure.
“The mandolin hint was almost useless except for pointing arrows,” says Marlize Lombard of the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. He was not involved in this research.
Researcher Ludovik Slimak holding a Grotte Mandolin flint point Philip Pusaira
Most of the mandolin’s arrowheads are broken. Some of the slaughtered meat was brought back to the camp, Metz said. Many of these show signs of charring from the fire.
Parts have also been found that are still attached to the shaft. According to Metz, if the arrowhead was broken due to the work to make the arrow shaft, the hunter would have taken the arrow back to camp, replaced the arrowhead, and discarded the broken arrowhead.
So far, the earliest unambiguous evidence of a bow and arrow in Europe comes from the discovery of Stellmoor, Germany, dating back about 10,000 years, says Metz. However, it was believed that modern humans, who drove out the Neanderthals about 45,000 years ago, most likely possessed bows and arrows.
These humans were definitely using stone-tipped projectiles. The problem, he says, is that with larger stone tips, there’s no way to tell whether they’re spearheads or arrowheads. Evidence of arrowheads may have been missed at some prehistoric sites in Europe. Archaeologists discarded small pieces of stone as worthless, she says.
Bows and arrows were first developed in Africa at least 70,000 years ago. Lombard and others have found stone and bone arrowheads in several locations in southern Africa that date back to this time. Modern humans who left Africa may have spread this technology around the world.
Neanderthals may have seen bows in action, but never developed them, says Metz. They continued to use large stone-tipped spears that they either thrust directly or throw by hand, thus requiring close contact with their prey.
The team has found no evidence that the arrows were used in conflict, but Metz says he is confident warfare was also practiced in prehistoric times, as it is so ubiquitous in human societies. According to her, this small group of modern humans may have been wiped out by the Neanderthals despite having technological advantages such as bows and arrows, but what happened to them is unknown. “We don’t know,” she says.
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