Archery Technology Gave Sapiens Advantage Over Neanderthals in Hunting, Study Shows

The use of bow and arrow technology gave Sapiens an advantage over Neanderthals in hunting

[24 Febbraio 2023]

The new studio “Bow-and-arrow, technology of the first modern humans in Europe 54,000 years ago at Mandrin, France”, pubblicato su Science Advances by Laure Metz (Aix-Marseille Université, University of Connecticut), Jason Lewis (Stony Brook University) and Ludovic Slimak (Université de Toulouse and Université Paul Sabatier) «Contextualises the traditions and technological knowledge of the first and pioneering A wise man» and demonstrates the mastery of archery by modern human populations and takes the use of bows and arrows back in Europe by approximately 40,000 years.

French and US researchers have analyzed lithic artefacts from the Grotte Mandrin, in Mediterranean France, which shows the oldest known occupation of theA wise man on the European continent. The study focuses on a layer of excavations very rich in finds, attributed to the Neronian culture, and which testifies to occupations of A wise man dating back 54,000 years, interposed between numerous Neanderthal cave occupations before and after modern man. This is approximately 10,000 years before what had previously been thought to be the first occupation of A wise man in Europa.

The study also highlights the different weapons traditions among Neanderthals – who systematically used heavy weapons such as spears to thrust into throwing javelins – and shows a strong technological contrast between Neanderthal populations and the first modern humans who arrived on the European continent.

Metz explains that «When Neanderthals used their traditional weapons, such as a thrust or hand-thrown spear, the first modern humans arrived with bow and arrow technologies. Bows can be used in all environments, open or closed, up to the desert, and are effective for prey of all sizes. Arrows can be shot quickly, with greater accuracy. Many arrows can be carried in a quiver on a hunting foray. These technologies therefore enabled incomparable efficiency in all hunting activities, while Neanderthals had to hunt in close or direct contact with their prey, a procedure that could be much more complex, riskier and even much more dangerous when hunting large game such as bison.”

The Department of Anthropology of the University of Connecticut recalls that «The emergence in prehistory of mechanically propelled weapons, such as spear throwers and the bow and arrow, is commonly perceived as one of the hallmarks of the advance of modern human populations on the European continent. However, the existence of archery has always been difficult to trace. Archery technologies are essentially based on the use of perishable materials; wood, fibres, leather, resins and sinews, which are rarely preserved in European Paleolithic sites, making archaeological recognition of these technologies difficult. It is the flint armor that constitutes the main evidence of these weapons technologies.”

And just based on the analysis of these arrowheads, bowhunting is now well documented in Africa, where it dates back approximately 70,000 years. Some flint or deer antler armor suggests the existence of bows and arrows in Europe since the early stages of the Upper Paleolithic, more than 35,000 years ago, but researchers highlight that «The morphology and methods of armament of these ancient weapons do not allow them to be linked to a distinct mode of propulsion, making the possible existence of archery during the European Paleolithic almost invisible.”

The proof of archery in the Paleolithic has previously been established only on the basis of the discovery of the oldest bows and arrows found in peat bogs in Northern Europe (at the Stellmoor site in Germany, for example) and dated to 10,000 to 12,000 years does. But the analysis of over 1,000 flint points from the Mandrin Caves shows that «A significant number were used as tips for arrows fired with a bow. The very small dot tips – around 30% weigh just over a few grams – led the researchers to rule out any other mode of ballistic propulsion other than arrows.”

The researchers also say that «This study also sheds light on the weapons of Neanderthal populations, demonstrating that, as contemporaries of Neronian modern humans, Neanderthals did not develop mechanically propelled weapons such as bow or thruster technologies and continued to use their traditional weapons based on the use of massive spears with shaped tips that were used thrust or thrown by hand, requiring close contact with their prey. The traditions and technologies mastered by these two populations were therefore profoundly distinct, showing a considerable objective technological advantage for modern human populations during their expansion into the European continent.”

However, the authors of the new study place this debate «In a much broader context in which technical choices cannot be limited only to the cognitive abilities of different human populations, referring us to the weight of traditions within these Neanderthal and modern human populations , as well as to human ethologies that may have been profoundly divergent.”

Metz adds: «At Grotte Mandrin research is ongoing and the latest field season revealed that the site was much larger than expected and should cover an impressive area of ​​over 1,000 square metres, with a high density of material archaeological even far from the cave entrance. Grotte Mandrin has already totally reshaped our understanding of the last Neanderthals and the first Sapiens migrations in continental Europe, profoundly changing the way we understand this important event in human history which saw the extinction of our last cousins, leaving for the first time the planet has only one species of hominid.

The team led by Slimak includes more than 40 researchers and many analyzes are ongoing. Slimak concludes: «The ongoing work could include even more important discoveries: we cannot wait».

2023-02-24 08:00:00
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