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
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Thieme, H. Nature 385, 807–810 (1997).
Roebroeks, W. & van Kolfschoten, T. Antiquity 68, 489–503 (1994).
Leakey, M. D. Olduvai Gorge Vol. 3: Excavations in Beds I and II, 1960–1963 (Cambridge Univ. Press, 1971).
Freeman, L. G. & Butzer, K. Quaternaria 8, 9–21 (1966).
Brain, C. K. The Hunters or the Hunted? An Introduction to African Cave Taphonomy (Univ. Chicago Press, 1981).
Binford, L. Ancient Bones and Modern Myths (Academic, London, 1981).
Isaac, G. L. in The Archaeology of Human Origins (ed. Isaac, B.) (Cambridge Univ. Press, 1989).
Binford, L. Faunal Remains from Klasies River Mouth (Academic, Orlando, FL, 1984).
Gamble, C. in The Pleistocene Old World: Regional Perspectives (ed. Soffer, O.) 81–98 (Plenum, New York, 1987).
Dennell, R. W. & Roebroeks, W. Antiquity 70, 535–542 (1996).
Roberts, M. B., Stringer, C. B. & Parfitt, S. A. Nature 369, 311–313 (1994).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights 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
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/385767a0
This article is cited by
-
Behavioral Modernity in Retrospect
Topoi (2021)
-
Paleolithic public goods games: why human culture and cooperation did not evolve in one step
Biology & Philosophy (2010)
-
Opinion
The Mathematical Intelligencer (1998)
-
Seeing the idea
The Mathematical Intelligencer (1998)