300,000-year-old throwing stick documents the evolution of hunting

HeritageDaily ^ | April 22, 2020 | Universitaet Tuebingen

[SunkenCiv]

Die Universität Tübingen und die Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung haben am 20. April 2020 die Entdeckung eines 300.000 Jahre alten Wurfstocks bekannt gegeben. Dieses hölzerne Objekt, publiziert in Nature EE , zeigt Anzeichen von Verarbeitung und Spuren der Verwendung als Jagdwaffe. Diese Entdeckung ist nicht nur eine Sensation, sondern auch das Ergebnis sorgfältiger Erforschung der Gebrauchsspuren (in Kooperation mit Veerle Rots von der Universität Lüttich).

Dieser neue Fund trägt dazu bei, unseren Wissenshorizont über die Schaffung und den Gebrauch der ersten Waffen der Menschheit in Altpaläolithikum zu erweitern.

Conard, N.J., Serangeli, J., Bigga, G., Rots, V. 2020. A 300,000-year-old throwing stick from Schöningen, northern Germany, documents the evolution of human hunting. Nature Ecology & Evolution. DOI: 10.1038/s41559-020-1139-0Entdeckung eines 300.000 Jahre alten Wurfstocks | Published on Apr 20, 2020

[PlateOfShrimp]

When was the monolith? They were throwing bones back then.

[alstewartfan]

It’s about time that dog brought back the stick!

[SunkenCiv]

the rest of the paleolithic keyword sorted chrono (four topics also at the top):

• Oldest evidence of arrows found [2010]
• Palaeolithic cutlery 400 000-200 000 years ago: tiny meat-cutting tools from Qesem Cave, Israel [2010]
• 400,000 year old spears found in an German coal mine! [2010]
• Skilled hunters 300,000 years ago [2012]

  ---

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[SunkenCiv]

[SunkenCiv]

The slow ones were on the menu, the original paws for the cause.

[SunkenCiv]

RattleBack -- Will spin in only one direction -- Watch as it stops itself & reverses direction!

[JohnnyP]

They were not using these to harvest “healthy grains”, etc.

Carnivore, for the win!

[Reily]

They’re using it to control their turnip herds!

[moovova]

“Experiments show that throwing sticks of this size reach maximum speeds of 30 meters per second.”

That’s not the 3000 ft/sec you’d get out of today’s AR...but I sure wouldn’t want to get hit by a stick traveling at 30 meters/sec.

[moovova]

I buy those by the bottle...

[alstewartfan]

You are quite the port, Sir.

[Cold Heart]

I know I have said this before, but, It’s the Paws that refreshes.

[SunkenCiv]

Using these throwing sticks were commonplace in Europe, and were naturally used against attackers -- thus the origin of the term "honky-tonk".

[R.I.P. Johnny Hart]

[Migraine]

There is not the slightest chance that wood survives, buried, in wood form, 300,000 years. They need to revise their dates by a lot.

[Dutch Boy]

That reminds me of the old joke.

Q: What so you call a boomerang that doesn’t come back?
A: A stick.

[varon]

Using these throwing sticks were commonplace in Europe,

Common practice in 'bride hunting'.....

[usurper]

They need to revise their dates by a lot.

That's what I was thinking, just looks an old stick to me.

[DesertRhino]

Wood is organic material, it can be tested.

[Colt1851Navy]

We used to throw other sailors around in bar fights in the 60’s, maybe this is why.