Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

The world's oldest spears

Humans of 400,000 years ago were sophisticated big-game hunters. Complete hunting spears discovered in a German coal-mine puncture the idea that these people hadn't the technology or foresight to hunt systematically.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Thieme, H. Nature 385, 807–810 (1997).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Roebroeks, W. & van Kolfschoten, T. Antiquity 68, 489–503 (1994).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Leakey, M. D. Olduvai Gorge Vol. 3: Excavations in Beds I and II, 1960–1963 (Cambridge Univ. Press, 1971).

    Google Scholar 

  4. Freeman, L. G. & Butzer, K. Quaternaria 8, 9–21 (1966).

    Google Scholar 

  5. Brain, C. K. The Hunters or the Hunted? An Introduction to African Cave Taphonomy (Univ. Chicago Press, 1981).

    Google Scholar 

  6. Binford, L. Ancient Bones and Modern Myths (Academic, London, 1981).

    Google Scholar 

  7. Isaac, G. L. in The Archaeology of Human Origins (ed. Isaac, B.) (Cambridge Univ. Press, 1989).

    Google Scholar 

  8. Binford, L. Faunal Remains from Klasies River Mouth (Academic, Orlando, FL, 1984).

    Google Scholar 

  9. Gamble, C. in The Pleistocene Old World: Regional Perspectives (ed. Soffer, O.) 81–98 (Plenum, New York, 1987).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  10. Dennell, R. W. & Roebroeks, W. Antiquity 70, 535–542 (1996).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Roberts, M. B., Stringer, C. B. & Parfitt, S. A. Nature 369, 311–313 (1994).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Dennell, R. The world's oldest spears. Nature 385, 767–768 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1038/385767a0

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/385767a0

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing