Recent investigations at the Middle Stone Age Sibudu Cave site in South Africa have produced simply gobs of new information about hunting technology, including the oldest evidence for bow and arrow use. If correct, the Sibudu Cave data extends the use of bow and arrow backwards by several tens of thousands of years.
The Sibudu Cave site is a rockshelter on the South African coast, close to Border, Rose Cottage, Blombos, and Klasies River caves. All of these caves have Middle Stone Age components associated with Howiesons Poort/Still Bay occupations.
Howiesons Poort/Still Bay
Left: refitted bone point from the HP layers at Sibudu Cave. Right: close-up view of two aspects showing the facets covered by fine longitudinal striations produced by scraping with a burin or unretouched stone edge.
Photo Credit: Lucinda Backwell (c) 2008
HP/SB, if you aren't already aware, is a fascinating period in our history. Between about 65,000 and 75,000 years ago on the very southern tip of Africa, early modern humans lived in a series of caves and conducted themselves in very modern ways. They made complex stone and bone tools, they ate a wide range of small and large mammals, they used red ochre for decoration, they even dabbled in art, with striations on rocks and shell ornaments.
And then all this impressive talent disappeared, or at least as far as archaeological science has discovered. Bone tools and stone tools and red ochre use and all that stuff doesn't appear again in humans until the Late Paleolithic of Europe, some 20,000-30,000 years later.
But... Arrow Points?
Many of the HP/SB sites have conical bone points, and these points taper gently along their length. The points have been blackened, perhaps by exposure to heat, and they probably represent a range of types of tools---needles, leather punches, spear points, and, according to researchers looking at Sibudu cave assemblages, the tips of arrow points.
Researcher Lucinda Backwell was kind enough to send along some large format photos, which have been used to build a photo essay of the bone tools so you can get a good look at them, and maybe get a somewhat better understanding of the logic behind their interpretation.
Now, the thing is--there hasn't been a lot of research along the Southern Dispersal Route (at least not published in English yet), which is the route researchers believe Early Modern Humans used to leave Africa to enter Asia and Australia. Some information has trickled out about modern behaviors in north Africa, such as Grottes des Pigeons. So maybe we can trace the development of hunting technology along the coastline, or in other parts of Africa yet to be examined; but we'll see. The next few years should be really interesting ones for archaeology.
Sources and More Information
Recent investigations at Sibudu Cave have resulted in at least 15 academic papers on the various pieces, and many of them are still in the works.
- Photo Essay of Early Modern Human Bone Projectile Points
- Sibudu Cave
- Howiesons Poort/Still Bay
- Blombos Cave
- Klasies River Caves
- Tim Jones on Remote Central beat me to this story: 60,000 year-old arrowhead from Kwa-Zulu Natal?
Comments
Not really a comment but a question.
Every day I walk my dog with a neighbor who is a devout creationist. Inevitably we get into discussions on evolution. Her contention is that humans have only been around 6,000 years and evolution can’t be proven.
So we met with one of her church elders and I provided evidence of sophisticated tools and weapons being used tens of thousands of years ago, pre-dating Adam & Eve.
Unfortunately, I happened to choose early flint tools as my example, they listened courteously and then said how do we know these tools are xxxxx thousands of years old. I guessed it would be some form of radiometric dating.
His reply was intriguing…. well you’ve proven how old the flint is, but when did that flint get knapped into a stone tool? Your dating techniques can’t tell you that.
I said I’d investigate, so need an example of say one of the earliest bows and arrows found and how science went about accurately dating it.
Thanks
JohnH
Well, there are several ways of direct dating archaeological materials. If the stone is obsidian, you can date the stone from the last time it was flaked–obsidian grows a rind at a (fairly) fixed rate. Most stone, unfortunately, is not obsidian.
So, you use organic materials that are recovered in the same strata as the artifact–so, you can date charcoal, for example, that the tool was found in.
Here is a short course (take on your own schedule) on archaeology dating techniques that might give you some ammunition:
http://archaeology.about.com/cs/datingtechniques/a/timing.htm
Good luck!
Kris
Carbon dating which is mostly used can only date back to 10,000 years, because it uses magnitic waves. After 10,000 years they are gone from the object. So there is no scientific fact in this dating beyond that point.
No; radiocarbon is good back to 50,000 years or so.
http://archaeology.about.com/od/rterms/g/radiocarbon.htm
Kris, I’m sure Mr.Hastwell appreciates the “ammunition” you have provided for him. One would assume that you are encouraging him to use it “against” the creationist friend. Sad, but I just wonder if the thought has occurred as to what such adversarial attitudes may accomplish. Is it the hope that the creationist will see there is no Creator as many obviously believe? If there is and I have no doubt of His power and presence personnaly, such opposition could prove to be such a hindrance to Mr. Hastwell’s peace and spiritual contentment which comes to those who humbly seek the Creator. One witness to His reality, said that the Creator told him that “He resists the proud, but shows favor to those who would humble themselves before Him. I have experienced His opposition to my pride, and I have experienced His grace and favor when I got humble and acknowledged that He Is. To encourage such opposition with “ammunition” may be setting Mr.Hastwell up for a battle with an opponent much more capable of defending Himself than the neighbor is at defending his faith in his Creator. Supplying such “ammunition” is a pretty big responsibility when you think about it. “pride goes before a what?………..I’m just (respectfully) sayin………rick d.
Truth is.. They’re both right..
I am a servant of Jesus The Christ, and if our Father wants a story that defies all brain and no spirit, since I have met the Owner, so be it. We trace Abraham at 6-10,000. Past that, man has no written records, just artifact estimates and guesses. All proofdom of missing links disappears under serious investigation, yet theorem keeps conjecture around. GOD’s Days are past finding out, from a beginnings for us that hurls time outward in ever increasing prime exponentials, which could cover millions and even billions of years, we arrive at man on the scene. We would be better off examining Adam’s Dispensational ability to live to a thousand,(1/10th to 1/6th of the earths inhabitants age). We could at least place all land mass on a map back to it’s original form and seriously consider digging for a skeleton of antiquity. Carbon accelerates it’s half life under pressure, and how much pounds per square inch would a world flood bring. If we trusted drawings on cave walls, and a belief that all men have equivelent I.Q’s not just the elite of our day, then man has told us there was a flood (by the same proofs Evolution uses). Even Scripture tells us Adam’s job was to Replenish what once was, hinting at an age unparalleled by our standards..The Evolutionists would be much better off befriended by
Friends who are Creationist who ask their Evolutionary friends to take a simple test run. Be brave enough to ask GOD to make Himself Known to them if He exists, and do it in Jesus’ Name, since if HE does Exist, He is worthy to have it HIS WAY to His
Truth to His Life..A sincere request/prayer at this juncture works every time, though how GOD reveals His GODship status thru Jesus is beyond finding out per individual..However, given time and GOD’s ability to be GOD, you’ll hear the story eventually..