A set of historical wooden spears may be youthful than scientists thought and wielded by Neanderthals as a substitute of their ancestors.
The full spears fabricated from spruce and pine are among the many oldest recognized looking weapons. They had been found in a coal mine over twenty years in the past within the German city of Schöningen together with the stays of almost 50 horses.
Previous estimates dated the spears to 300,000 years in the past so scientists thought the weapons belonged to a gaggle of early people known as Homo heidelbergensis — regarded as the final frequent ancestor between people and Neanderthals.
But the brand new evaluation utilizing a distinct relationship approach suggests the spears are youthful, inserting them about 200,000 years outdated. The new age means the looking weapons may have been used by Neanderthals as a substitute, in line with analysis revealed on May 9 within the journal Science Advances.
Recent work has steered that some Neanderthals blended and mated with early people. The balanced, well-crafted spears might assist scientists perceive what Neanderthals had been able to and the way they labored collectively to hunt.
The spears are “fairly refined for one thing that outdated,” said study co-author Jarod Hutson with the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
But it’s not yet clear why the new dating disagrees with previous estimates. Archaeologist Thomas Terberger with the University of Göttingen said more research is needed to be sure of the spears’ age and who used them to hunt.
“For the moment, I find the arguments interesting, but not absolutely convincing,” said Terberger, who had no role in the new study.
Published – May 12, 2025 04:03 pm IST
