World’s oldest poison-tipped arrow discovered in South Africa
For thousands of years, hunters around the world have used poison-tipped arrows to help bring down their prey. For example, curare, a plant poison used by hunters in South and Central America, paralyzes the respiratory system. Meanwhile, residents of the Kalahari Desert rely on toxins harvested from beetle larvae.
Now, paleoarchaeologists say a new discovery in South Africa indicates that humans have been using poisoned arrows for even longer than initially thought. Not only that, but findings explored in a study published today in the journal Scientific advances suggest that we have leveraged both tools and native ecologies to their advantage for longer than expected.
“This is the oldest direct evidence that humans used arrow poison,” Marlize Lombard, an archaeologist at the University of Johannesburg and co-author of the study, said in a statement. “This shows that our southern African ancestors not only invented the bow and arrow much earlier than previously thought, but also understood how to use nature’s chemistry to increase hunting efficiency.”
The team discovered several 60,000-year-old quartz arrowheads from the Umhlatuzana rock shelter in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province. The deposit located about 300 miles southeast of Johannesburg is famous for its Stone Age artifacts, including evidence of fires. Chemical analysis of organic residues on the tiny quartz weapons revealed the presence of buphandrine and epibuphanisin. Both of these compounds are found in a poisonous onion called gifbol (disticha boophone) which is still used by indigenous hunters in the region.
The team then examined more recently manufactured arrowheads held in Swedish collections. These specimens, collected by travelers to South Africa in the 18th century, closely match organic molecules discovered 60,000 years ago.
“Finding traces of the same poison on prehistoric and historic arrowheads was crucial,” said Stockholm University archaeologist and co-author Sven Isaksson, adding that he found it “fascinating that people had such a deep and long-standing understanding of plant use.”
While scientists have long theorized about the ancient use of poisons based on indirect chemical traces, these quartz arrowheads represent the first direct evidence of the use of poison on arrowheads.
“By carefully studying the chemical structure of the substances and thus drawing conclusions about their properties, we were able to determine that these particular substances are stable enough to survive for such a long time in the soil,” he said.
According to Anders Högberg, co-author of the study and an archaeologist at Linnaeus University in Sweden, the arrow poison illustrates the levels of planning, craftsmanship and logical cognition already demonstrated by Stone Age people.
“This is a clear sign of advanced thinking among early humans,” he said.
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