Neanderthals were capable of hunting prey from up to 65 feet (20 metres) away using throwing spears, according to new research. The study challenges previous assumptions that these ancient human ancestors lacked the technology or skill for long-range weaponry.
Researchers from University College London used replicas of 300,000-year-old wooden spears, known as the Schoningen spears, and enlisted javelin-throwing athletes to test their effectiveness. The athletes successfully hit targets at distances double what scientists had previously believed possible, with enough force to kill large prey.
Lead author Dr Annemieke Milks said: 'This study is important because it adds to a growing body of evidence that Neanderthals were technologically savvy and had the ability to hunt big game through a variety of hunting strategies, not just risky close encounters. It contributes to revised views of Neanderthals as our clever and capable cousins.'
The Schoningen spears, discovered in Germany in the 1990s, are the oldest known weapons in the archaeological record. Their weight had previously led scientists to assume they were used for stabbing rather than throwing.
Neanderthals vanished from Europe around 40,000 years ago after coexisting with modern humans for several millennia. Recent finds have increasingly shown that Neanderthals were sophisticated toolmakers, used body art, buried their dead, and created cave art predating modern human art by thousands of years.
