US EditionEarliest Direct Evidence of Poisoned Arrows Revealed in 60,000-Year-Old Relics
Chemical analysis of 60,000-year-old quartz arrowheads reveals use of plant-derived poisons to increase hunting efficiency, evidencing advanced cognitive skills in early humans.
- At Umhlatuzana Rock Shelter, KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa, researchers identified traces of plant-derived poison on quartz microlith arrowheads dating to roughly 60,000 years ago.
- Archaeologists suspected older poison use because bone and stone arrowheads resembled poisoned examples, while the earliest direct evidence came from bone arrowheads in an Egyptian tomb dated little more than 4,000 years and Kruger Cave arrowheads around 6,800 years ago.
- Using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, the team found buphandrine on five of ten microliths and epibuphanisine on one, both toxic plant alkaloids.
- Researchers argue poisoned arrows indicate advanced planning, botanical knowledge, and causal reasoning among Stone Age hunter-gatherers in southern Africa, pushing back evidence by tens of thousands of years.
- The team compared prehistoric residues with historical specimens and found the same toxic compounds on four 18th-century arrowheads in Swedish collections and noted Indigenous hunters still use Boophone disticha.
51 Articles
51 Articles
World’s Oldest Arrow Poison Found in Africa, Dating Back 60,000 Years
Microlith 001 showing the reddish poisonous adhesive residue still adhering to the dorsal backed portion of the tool. Credit: Sven Isaksson / CC BY 4.0 Researchers have identified what is now considered the world’s oldest evidence of arrow poison, traced to 60,000-year-old quartz arrowheads discovered at the Umhlatuzana Rock Shelter in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The findings show that early humans in the region combined advanced hunting tools …
Arrow tips found in South Africa are the oldest evidence of poison use in hunting
Boophone disticha. Ton Rulkens from Mozambique, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BYThe oldest evidence for the use of arrow poison globally was long thought to come from Egypt, dating to 4,000 years ago. It was a black, toxic residue on bone arrowheads from a tomb at the Naga ed Der archaeological site. New evidence from southern Africa is challenging this. New research has found poison on stone arrow tips from South Africa dating to 60,0…
World’s earliest evidence of poison-tipped arrows found in South Africa
Scientists have uncovered the oldest known poison-tipped arrow, dating back 60 000 years, demonstrating the advanced hunting strategies of early humans. Multiple 60 000-year-old quartz arrowheads were recently excavated from the Umhlatuzana Rock Shelter in KwaZulu-Natal. They have provided the oldest direct evidence of hunters deploying plant-based poisons on their weapons. Poison-tipped arrows for hunting Hunters around the world have long used…
Ancient human hunters used poisoned arrows
Ancient humans used poisoned arrowheads to hunt prey 60,000 years ago, archeologists discovered. Traces of plant toxins were found on quartz Stone Age arrowheads in South Africa, the oldest known example, suggesting paleolithic hunters had more sophisticated techniques than previously thought. The toxin, derived from the gifbol or “poison bulb” plant, is still used by traditional hunters, to target springbok, wildebeest, and even giraffes and ze…
Archaeologists uncover earliest known use of poison-laced weapons dating back 60,000 years
Archaeologists have uncovered what they believe to be the earliest direct chemical proof ancient humans employed poison on their hunting weapons. The breakthrough comes from analysis of 60,000-year-old stone arrowheads excavated from Umhlatuzana rock shelter in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.The research, published in Science Advances, pushes back the confirmed use of toxic substances in hunting by tens of thousands of years. Before this discovery,…
The oldest so far documented poison arrows came from an Egyptian burial site. In South Africa, archaeologists now encountered significantly earlier finds – and marvel at the advanced knowledge of the hunters at that time.
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