"Researchers have found traces of what appears to be plant-derived poison on tiny stone arrowheads from South Africa dated to 60,000 years ago. The finding pushes back the origin of this revolutionary hunting technology by tens of thousands of years. Scientists have long been fascinated by the development of poisoned hunting weapons. For one thing, they would have seriously leveled up our ancestors' foraging game."
"For another, they offer a window into cognition: poisoned weapons represent a highly sophisticated technology that requires knowledge of how to extract poison from plants, how poison affects prey and how to exploit those effects to increase hunting efficiency. Previously the oldest direct evidence of poisoned weapons came from bone arrowheads in an Egyptian tomb dated to little more than 4,000 years ago and bone arrowheads from Kruger Cave in South Africa dating to around 6,800 years ago."
Traces of plant-derived poison were found on tiny stone arrowheads from Umhlatuzana Rock Shelter in South Africa dated to 60,000 years ago. Chemical traces indicate toxic plant alkaloids preserved on arrowheads. The evidence pushes back the known use of poisoned projectile technology by tens of thousands of years. Poisoned weapons imply advanced knowledge of plant extraction, toxic effects on prey, and strategies to exploit those effects to improve hunting efficiency. Earlier direct evidence consisted of bone arrowheads dated to about 4,000 years and 6,800 years in other African sites. Similar stone and bone artifacts suggested older use but lacked chemical proof.
Read at www.scientificamerican.com
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