A small stone artifact discovered in Uzbekistan may be the oldest known arrow, new research suggests.
It remains unclear whether these stone tools were created by modern humans, Neanderthals, or other groups.
Archaeologists found the tool on the site of Obi Rakumat in northeastern Uzbekistan. Previous excavations discovered various stone tools from the site, including thin, wide blades and small “blades.” However, many small triangle points called “microliths” were overlooked in previous work because they broke.
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In a study published on August 11 in the Journal Plos One, researchers argue that these “micropoints” are too narrow and fit to fit other than arrow-like shafts. The Stones also show the expected type of damage from used arrowheads, Hugues Plisson, a study co-author who is an associate scientist at the University of Bordeaux in France, told Live Science.
Therefore, these micropoints are about 80,000 years old micropoints, and could be the oldest arrow in the world. The researchers say this is an artifact from around 6,000 years old that was unearthed in Ethiopia.
Scientists hope that their work will raise questions.
“The bow itself and the arrow shaft are not preserved, so skepticism from colleagues is expected,” Andrey Krivoshapkin, director of the Siberian branch of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Live Science.
Related: 1.5 million year old stone tools from mysterious human relatives discovered in Indonesia – they reached the area before our species existed
Still, these findings “complex early weapons and hunting techniques were geographically widespread earlier than previously expected,” Christian Trion, a Paleolithic archaeologist at the University of Connecticut, who did not take part in the study, told Live Science. “As always, we consistently underestimate our ancestors’ capabilities.”
It remains unknown which group created the stone artifacts found in Obi Rakumat.
During excavation at the site in 2003, archaeologists discovered six teeth and 121 skull fragments from children aged 9-12 years. The teeth resemble those of Neanderthals, but the skull features were more vague, raising the question of whether the child was a member of our species or perhaps a hybrid between Homo sapiens and Neanderthals or Denisovan.
According to Prison, Central Asia was the territory of the Neanderthal when the oldest of these potential arrowheads was made in Obi Rakumat. However, Neanderthal Arrowheads are unknown, the study said. Researchers suggested that the Obi Rakumat artifact was most likely created by H. sapiens.
“The emergence of the Obi Rakumat population in Central Asia is consistent with the Eurasian period of estimation of human variance,” Krivoshepkin said. Researchers told LiveScience that these migrants could have originated from the Levant and the Eastern Mediterranean region, including Israel, the Palestinian territory, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and its surrounding areas today.
When modern humans arrived, other groups such as Neanderthals may have already lived in the area, including the Obi Rakumat, but scientists argued, adding that microlith technology may have helped them get food in their new environment.
“Our findings help us identify the characteristics of self-sufficiency that have enabled us to successfully compete with groups that have long adapted to living in the landscapes we are studying,” says Krivoshapkin.
Scientists are now about to discover when the people of Obi Rakumat first arrived in Central Asia. They hope to find archaeological and genetic links between them and the Levant group. They will also be investigating other, potentially old archaeological sites in the area, and may reveal arrows over 80,000 years old.
“These innovations have emerged much earlier and could have lasted for a long time,” Krivoshapkin said.
“It’s great to find sites where hunting was actually done,” Trion said. “But these sites are difficult to find in the landscape.”
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