By Kanyshai Butun
ISTANBUL (AA) - Scientists have discovered 60,000-year-old poison arrow tips in South Africa, which could represent the earliest known use of poison-laced weapons, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances.
Researchers analyzed 10 bone arrow tips excavated from the Umhlatuzana rock shelter and found that five contained traces of the toxic plant compounds buphanidrine and epibuphanisine.
The presence of slow-acting poisons would have weakened targeted prey and significantly reduced the time and energy required for persistence hunting, the study said.
The findings suggest highly sophisticated hunting strategies that relied not only on physical skill but also on advanced planning, abstract thinking and an understanding of cause and effect, the researchers said.
“Apart from providing the first evidence of hunting with poisoned arrows during the late Pleistocene in southern Africa, our findings contribute to the understanding of human adaptation and techno-behavioral complexity during a phase of rapid, cumulative innovation in the region,” the study said.
Before this discovery, the earliest direct evidence of poison arrows dated to an Egyptian tomb from around 4,000 years ago.