Scientists Find 60,000-Year-Old "Poisoned" Arrows Showing Advanced Prehistoric Hunting Skills

Scientists have discovered poisoned arrowheads that are around 60,000 years old in South Africa, showing that humans were using advanced hunting tools much earlier than previously thought, reported People.com. Quartz arrowheads were found at the Umhlatuzana Rock Shelter in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, as reported in a recent study published in Science Advances by researchers from Sweden and South Africa.

The study's authors explain that the poison used on the arrows did not kill the prey instantly but rather slowed it down, making it easier to catch. This indicates that Pleistocene-era hunters employed complex thinking and well-considered hunting strategies.

Before this discovery, the oldest known poisoned arrows dated to the mid-Holocene epoch, approximately 4,000 to 8,000 years ago, in Egypt and South Africa.

According to the researchers, the poison used on the arrows came from the bulb of the local plant Boophone disticha, a highly toxic plant found in South Africa. They noted that the same toxin has been found on arrows from later periods as well.
They also stated that B. disticha can kill mice in 20-30 minutes and can cause nausea, vision problems, and muscle weakness in humans.

The lead author of the study, Professor Sven Isaksson of the Archaeological Research Laboratory at Stockholm University, underscored the significance of this discovery. He explained that knowing that the substance applied to the arrow could weaken an animal hours later demonstrates the ancient humans' cause-and-effect thinking and their ability to anticipate future outcomes. He said this evidence shows that humans at that time possessed advanced cognitive abilities, complex cultural knowledge, and sophisticated hunting practices.

Isaksson also noted that finding residues of the same poison on both prehistoric and historical arrows was significant. He said that studying the chemical composition of the substances revealed that these substances can remain stable in the soil for such a long period.