300,000-Year-Old Weapons Reveal Early Humans Were Woodworking Master
AncientPages.com | July 19, 2023
Jan Bartek - AncientPages.com - A 300,000-year-old hunting weapon has shone a new light on early humans as woodworking masters, according to a new study.
State-of-the-art analysis of a double-pointed wooden throwing stick, found in Schöningen in Germany three decades ago, shows it was scraped, seasoned and sanded before being used to kill animals. The research indicates early humans' woodworking techniques were more developed and sophisticated than previously understood.
Artistic reconstruction showing the stick would have been thrown. Credit: Benoit Clarys
The findings also suggest the creation of lightweight weapons may have enabled group hunts of medium and small animals. The use of throwing sticks as hunting aids could have involved the entire community, including children.
Dr. Annemieke Milks, of the University of Reading's Department of Archaeology, led the research. She said, "Discoveries of wooden tools have revolutionized our understanding of early human behaviors. Amazingly these early humans demonstrated an ability to plan well in advance, a strong knowledge of the properties of wood, and many sophisticated woodworking skills that we still use today."
More:
https://www.ancientpages.com/2023/07/19/300000-year-old-weapons-humans-woodworking-master/
Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs!
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It’s the first time that scientists have proved that pre-Homo-sapiens species of humans had developed sophisticated woodworking skills
David Keys
14 hours ago
The Schöningen double pointed wooden stick
New archaeological research has revealed that now long-extinct pre-modern species of humans were much more technologically skilled than previously thought.
Investigations led by a University of Reading archaeologist are showing that thousands of years before our species, Homo sapiens, existed, a now long-vanished early human species had developed sophisticated woodworking techniques.
A detailed scientific study of a 300,000 year old wooden projectile (a so-called throwing stick), found at Schöningen near Hanover in Germany, has revealed that the timber (part of a slightly curved spruce branch) was chosen with great care and that it was then de-barked and slowly seasoned (perhaps using gentle heat from a fire).
The archaeological investigation also demonstrated that the two ends of the 77 centimetre long projectile were then sharpened – and that the entire object was then sanded and polished to enhance its aerodynamic capabilities. It probably had a range of around 30 metres - and would have rotated, boomerang-style, when in flight. The very complex research into the Stone Age weapon involved three-dimensional microscopy, CT scanning and infrared spectrometry, to identify subtle surface and internal features. Although lightweight, the high velocity at which the weapon would have been launched would have resulted in deadly high-energy impacts.
More:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/homo-sapiens-wood-stick-weapon-schoningen-b2378210.html