In the tropical rainforest of all places, researchers find evidence of the earliest use of bows and arrows outside Africa. The finds show why man was so successful in colonizing the earth.
Colombo / Jena (dpa) - In the rain forest of Sri Lanka, researchers have discovered the oldest evidence of the use of bows and arrows outside of Africa. In the Fa-Hien Lena cave in the southwest of the island, archaeologists found arrowheads made from animal bones that are approximately 45,000 to 48,000 years old.
"The breaks at the tips indicate damage from a strong impact - something that is typically seen when hunting animals with a bow and arrow," said lead author Michelle Langley of Griffith University in Brisbane. "This document is older than similar findings in Southeast Asia with an age of around 32,000 years and is currently the oldest evidence of the use of bows and arrows outside the African continent."
The earliest evidence of this technology so far comes from South Africa and is about 64,000 years old, says co-author Patrick Roberts from the Max Planck Institute for the History of Humanity in Jena. What is particularly interesting about the new finds is that they come from the tropical rainforest - and not from more open landscapes such as the savannah. "This is a piece of the puzzle that shows us why our species was so successful: Because it lives in all environments and can adapt the technology to the circumstances."
At the time, people in the rainforest probably used bows and arrows to hunt primates and rodents that live in trees, the team writes in the journal "Science Advances". Maybe, says Roberts, the bow and arrow technique differentiates Homo sapiens from his closest relatives, such as the Neanderthals. This hunting technique requires a greater ability to think abstractly because it combines two devices.
In the cave, the researchers also found evidence of the production of pearls from mineral ocher, as well as tools for fishing and for the production of fibers, which were probably processed into clothing or nets. "So far, it has been thought that clothing was designed to protect against the cold," says Roberts. "The fact that there is evidence for this in Sri Lanka also suggests that it may also have been used to protect against mosquitoes, for example."
Study (after the vesting period)
