Metrics details While archeologists usually favor the study of large and diagnostic lithic artifacts this study illustrates the invaluable contribution of lithic microartifacts for interpreting hominin lifeways Across a 64 m2 area of the Middle Pleistocene lakeshore site of Schöningen 13 II-3 in Northern Germany we recovered a total of 57 small and micro flint artifacts three natural fragments and three bone retouchers in close association with the skeleton of an extinct Eurasian straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus) This area lacks the type of formal knapped stone tools that would normally constitute the focus of archeological interpretations we demonstrate that these small and microartifacts are resharpening flakes that tell the story of the site Fifteen resharpening flakes preserve microwear traces of processing wood Microscopic residues of wood adhered to the former working edges of the tools corroborate this observation natural fragment of flint to process fresh animal tissue which likely originates from the butchery of the elephant 300,000-year-old evidence for the functionally interconnected use of lithic we document in-situ transformations of stone tools and the presence of both curational and expedient behaviors thereby demonstrating the temporal depth of hominin activities at the lakeshore where the elephant died stone artifacts have always played a major role in the understanding of the cultural aspects of early hominins being the most abundant finds recovered from Paleolithic sites This is mostly due to a series of factors including (1) the need for careful recovery techniques in the field (2) the tedious work of classification and quantification (4) the challenge of analysing minute surfaces under the lens of microscopes we show here the invaluable contribution of microartifact analysis for interpreting the lifeways subsistence and technology of Middle Pleistocene hominins at Schöningen (henceforth Schö) The lithic assemblage of the 64 m2 studied area at Schö 13 II-3 is almost entirely composed of tiny small and microflakes recovered in close association with an almost complete skeleton of an extinct Eurasian straight-tusked elephant (Supplementary Information and Supplementary Fig. 1) Three natural flint fragments and 4 pieces of angular debris complement the sample Our aim here is fourfold: (1) characterize the attributes of the knapped products; (2) test the potential of microartifacts (i.e. resharpening flakes) for reconstructing site function; (3) determine the use of tools prior to resharpening; and (4) reconstruct technological and functional activities performed at the location of the elephant we applied a holistic approach integrating different techniques in a single We combined a spatial investigation with data from a classic morphological and technological analysis coupled with microwear analysis integrated with optical elemental and chemical characterization of residues Laboratory analyses are complemented by actualistic experiments aimed at observing resharpening debitage and recording the development and distribution of wear traces and residues on the small and microflakes (see Supplementary Information) The results show that several of the analysed resharpening flakes from Schö 13 II-3 exhibit traces of processing wood on their striking platforms which correspond to the former working edges of tools Microscopic residues compatible with woody tissues adhering on these butts and sticking to the dorsal proximal retouch scars corroborate this observation one natural shard shows evidence of use compatible with a cutting activity on fresh animal tissues Overview of the resharpening flakes from Schöningen 13 II-3 Complete flakes are grouped attending to the technological dimension and according to the following ranges identified in the assemblage: ≤ 5 mm (N = 8); ≤ 10 mm (N = 21); ≤ 15 mm (N = 12); ≤ 23 mm (N = 3) Furthermore, among the flakes, we identified one conjoin (ID 29675; ID 30251), which has been analysed as a single flake, and a refit of two flakes (ID 29716; ID 29817). According to its morphology, size and color, a third piece (ID 29377) without a direct refit may have been removed within the same group of blows (Supplementary Fig. 1) Spatial distribution of finds from the elephant area at Schöningen 13 II-3 (a,b) horizontal (x–y axis) and vertical (x–z axis) distribution of the lithic and faunal remains; (c) distribution of the lithic record among the layers It is worth mentioning that the spatial distribution (close proximity of the refits and conjoins) proves that the knapped products were not transported by water over a great distance meaning their location reflects the original area of deposition The analyses of the attributes show that, on the ventral sides, lips are present on most products. The presence of bulbs was recorded on almost half of the lithic artifacts. Most of these ventral faces follow concave as well as some straight delineations. The majority of flakes carry feathered terminations (Supplementary Table 3) Because of the type and dimensions of the butts the external and internal knapping angles could not be recorded the lithic products analyzed correspond to resharpening flakes These were detached from the edge of a tool that has lost its sharpness and cutting efficency due to repeated use With the reworking of the edge removing the blunted margin The microdebitage removed carries the previous traces of utilization on the external platform edge and along the dorsal proximal retouch scars we recorded shiny scratches with random distribution on several microflakes due to contact with the metal sieve during their recovery these marks did not create any analytical issues during the use-wear analysis Archeological macro and microscopic use-wear traces on lithic artifacts from the elephant area at Schöningen 13 II-3 (a) view of the butt of the resharpening flake ID 28802 with a well-developed rounding along the external platform edge and yellow-orangish use-related microresidues (Magnification: 56x); (b) micro-edge damage developed along the dorsal face of the resharpening flake ID 29711 (Magnification: 56x); (c–e) micro-polish recorded on the butt of three resharpening flakes (ID 30876 Magnification: 500x) and interpreted as evidence of working fresh wood; (f) micro-polish recorded on the dorsal outer edge of the resharpening flake ID 29711 (Magnification: 500x); (g) natural flint fragment ID 29967; (h) edge damage along the natural sharp edge (Magnification: 25x); (i) micro-polish interpreted as related to the processing of fresh animal tissues Edge damage along the proximal dorsal edge of the resharpening flakes was rarely observed (Fig. 3b) we recognized both cone and bending initiation with feather and hinge terminations Moderate edge rounding along the external platform edge of the flakes was recorded on 4 artifacts The degree of polish extension and the low rates of microwear recorded on the dorsal flake’s surfaces suggest the use of the original tools in a transversal motion The rest of the sample subjected to analysis includes 4 debris pieces and 3 natural fragments None of the debris exhibit microwear ascribable to production or to their subsequent use after detachment Among the three natural fragments, only one of them (ID 29967) exhibits macro and micro traces related to use (Fig. 3g) which has a sagittal and transversal cross-sections shows a pointed morphology with a sharp and acute natural edge produced by a frost breakage The acute edge is opposed to a natural back which probably facilitated grasping by hominins we recorded two types of residues: post-depositional accumulations and use-derived residues We identified use-derived residues on 13 micro and small flakes residues appeared in combination with microwear residues appeared optically homogenous in their spatial distribution and morphological attributes morphology and spatial pattern of distribution the quantity of the deposition varied from piece to piece Archeological resharpening flake from the elephant area at the site Schöningen 13 II-3 (a) microflake ID 30255; (b) microresidues stuck on the dorsal proximal retouch scars and interpreted as tiny woody remains (Magnification: 200x); (c) microresidues of wood adhering on the butt (Magnification: 500x dark field); (d,e) soil particles adhering to the dorsal surface and related FTIR spectroscopic absorptions showing a high concentration of calcium carbonate (Magnification in (d): 12.5x) the FTIR results showed the plant-rich nature of the sediment itself (also observed with optical microscopes) micro-wood residues identified on the resharpening flakes exhibit morphological features a pattern of spatial distribution alongside a strict correlation with the use-wear traces that securely attest to their use-derived origin eliminating the possibility of incidental deposition The firm correlation between traces and use-derived residues observed on nine micro and small flakes let us confidently interpret the other 5 microflakes exhibiting microresidues but weak and not sufficiently diagnostic polishes as part of the same techno-functional cycle The archaeological complex of Schöningen stands out as one of the most significant Middle Pleistocene sites in Europe the rapid burial of the finds and the spatial distribution of the material 64 m2 studied area at Schö 13 II-3 offers a rare opportunity to investigate a snapshot of hominin activities and subsistence behavior during MIS 9 in Northern Germany along with very pristine archeological deposits have allowed us to reconstruct what might have happened around the elephant spot ca preliminary observations of the Schöningen elephant have no revealed cutmarks but further restoration and study are underway (Ivo Verheijen Given the great amount of meat and fat provided by an elephant more sophisticated tools were used during butchery no tools matching the studied microdebitage have been discovered This suggests that selected tools were kept and transported to other locations for resharpening and reuse This implies the hominins’ desire to prolong the use-life of selected tools by adopting maintenance procedures and curation This assumption is confirmed by the results provided in this study Through a comprehensive morphotechnical and functional analysis we establish that the small and microflakes found among the elephant’s bones are resharpening flakes originating from tools previously used to process fresh wood The anatomy of the resharpening flakes (e.g. flint inclusions) suggests that at least two tools were resharpened on the spot of the elephant after previous use and see also experimental results in the Supplementary Information) firmly suggests the use of soft hammering techniques This is also inferred by the results of the morphotechnical analysis on very small flakes and tend to carry lips or feathered termination It is difficult to establish whether woodworking activities at Schö 13 II-3 were contemporaneous with the butchery of the elephant It is also possible that the stone tools were used to process wood at another time or location before being brought to the elephant and resharpened for a new purpose the Schöningen hominins during this visit preferred to prolong the use-life of formal tools for future tasks instead of abandoning them after use they also chose to use simple naturally sharp fragments to satisfy more immediate needs in an expedient way it suffered incipient frost fractures that made flaking unpredictable This aspect may explain the need to resharpen tools and the abundance of microdebitage observed at Schöningen 13 II-3 and 13 II-4 This work is the first comprehensive and integrated techno-functional study conducted on Lower Paleolithic microdebitage Through a careful and in-depth analysis of tiny resharpening flakes we provide a high-resolution glimpse into the life of 300,000-year-old hominins on the shore of the paleolake at Schöningen Microartifacts have revealed unexpected results providing insight into tool production diversification of activities and exploitation of resources The area of study within the locality Schö 13 II-3 proved to be a key spot for investigating how hominins interacted with the interglacial lakeshore environment and how they implemented organic and inorganic resources into their technological repertoire the results from the analysis of the microdebitage brought to light direct and indirect evidence for the interrelated and mutual use of lithic combined with the ongoing faunal analysis of the elephant bones will further illuminate this important question Alongside the significant contributions to our understanding of hominin subsistence activities and techno-functional behaviors during the Middle Pleistocene this study also reassesses and highlights the importance of studying microdebitage We demonstrate that microartifacts do not contain less information than their larger counterparts they constitute a key resource for understanding early hominin lifeways This is especially relevant in contexts where no tools are recovered or at sites characterized by low numbers of lithic tools our example opens new perspectives for reconstructing hominin behavior based significantly on the recovery of small and microartifacts The material presented in this study consists of 57 small and microdebitage flakes Many of these artifacts were found among the elephant bones while others were lying in the immediate vicinity of the skeleton Only 37.5% of the lithic assemblage was found in situ was found during the sieving process after water screening of the collected sediments After collection during excavation or in the lab each piece was packed in a plastic bag with a label and stored in boxes until analysis the lithic remains were studied macroscopically using different hand lenses and under low-power magnification with the stereomicroscope MOTIC SMZ 171 (with 10 × ocular magnification and 0.75 × −5 × zoom range) Artifacts were always handled with powder-free nitrile gloves a methodology that focuses on the technical characteristics generated during the production process which are seen in the final morphology of the artifacts Technological and morphological measurements were also recorded we used an Olympus BX53M metallographic microscope with vertical incident light The majority of the archeological specimens were recovered after water screening but the artifacts were not manipulated underwater with the purpose of cleaning their surfaces prior to this study they were always handled with powder-free nitrile gloves during the entire analytical procedure We observed and recorded the residues on the archeological material before and after cleaning as it allowed us to confidentially identify the reliable The residues that disappeared after cleaning were considered non-use related We recorded and characterized microresidues related to use as well as residues accumulated by post-depositional agents scalpel extraction) and other combined approaches (optical observations elemental and spectroscopic characterization) Residues were characterized paying particular attention to their morphological attributes (appearance directionality and link with use-wear traces We first characterized the archeological residues in-situ with the aforementioned Olympus reflected optical light microscopes (RL) using various lighting conditions (i.e. We thus selected one specimen with the most abundant residue accumulations for a subsequent observation in extracted solutions we placed 20 μL of distilled water in the area of residues (˜7 mm) and we extracted the material with an adjustable pipette We mounted extractions onto clean glass slides with a 50% solution of distilled water and glycerol We documented residues in transmitted light (TL) using a Zeiss Axio Imager Petrographic Microscope equipped with plane-polarized and cross-polarized light at the Laboratory available at the Department of Geoarchaeology at the University of Tübingen and an Olympus BX53M metallographic microscope in transmitted light along with the 3D digital microscope Hirox HRX-01 covering a magnification range of 20 × -2500 × available at the MCL at the University of Tübingen We later subjected the same specimen to spectroscopic characterization of residues using X-ray (SEM–EDX) and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (microFTIR) we carefully and lightly scraped a few microparticles of residue with a scalpel from the specimen and placed them onto a standard SEM carbon adhesive glued on an aluminum stab The extracted residues were observed without coating in a high-vacuum mode and working distance between 122 and 923 μm using a Phenom XL Scanning Electron Microscope from Phenom-World Eindhoven—Netherlands equipped with cerium hexaboride (CeB6) source and Phenom —element Identification Software at the Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment at the Department of Geosciences at the University of Tübingen We used different accelerating voltages during the analysis of residues: 5 kV was used to characterize topographic and textural traits while 15 kV mode provided elemental information through grey-scale images according to the atomic number using the high sensitivity backscattered electron detector For microFTIR we used a Bruker Optic Alpha-R portable interferometer with an external reflectance head covering a circular area of about 5 mm in diameter at the Laboratory of Technological and Functional Analyses of Prehistoric Artifacts at Sapienza University of Rome (LTFAPA) The investigated spectral range was equal to 7000–375 cm−1 We placed the samples directly in front of the objective and took infra-red measures on at least three points for each analysed residue The flakes exhibiting micro-residues were only rinsed in fresh demineralized water we used ethanol/acetone for cleaning tiny portions 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Evol. 89, 18–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.02.004 (2015) Die Schöninger Speere: Mensch und Jagd vor 400,000 Jahren (Theiss-Verlag Botanische Makroreste aus den mittelpleistozänen Ablagerungen und das Nutzungspotential einer interglazialen Paläoflora Forschungen zur Urgeschichte aus dem Tagebau von Schöningen 3 (Verlag des Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums Use-Wear Analysis of Flakes Stone Tools (University of Arizona press Microscopie du matériel lithique préhistorique Lombard, M. Finding resolution for the Howiesons Poort through the microscope: Micro-residue analysis of segments from Sibudu Cave, South Africa. J. Archaeol. Sci. 35, 26–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2007.02.021 (2008) Download references The authors are grateful to the archaeozoologist Ivo Verheijen for sharing his knowledge with us and for his contribution to the excavation and documentation of the elephant A dedicated article on this elephant is in preparation We thank also Veerle Rots for the preliminary discussion on the traceological results and the “LTFAPA” -University of Rome- for hosting the FTIR analysis We thank the Ministry of Science of Lower Saxony Dagmar von Reitzenstein and Jobs von Wintzingerode who have provided financial resources for the ongoing research at Schöningen We thank our colleagues from the NLD especially Henning Hassmann and Jens Lehmann for their support The excavations at Schöningen run for roughly 10 months each year and the members of the excavation team of the last years including Dennis Mennella Martin Kursch and Cordula Schwarz have made and are continuing to make essential contributions to the work at Schöningen thanks are also owed to the more than 250 students who in the last 15 years have been collaborating at the site The authors are also grateful to the two anonymous reviewers for making constructive comments on the earlier version of this paper we acknowledge support by Open Access Publishing Fund of University of Tübingen Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment Scientific Methodologies Applied to Cultural Heritage (SMATCH) designed the experimental reference collection and performed the experiments; F.V performed the use-wear and residue analyses on the experimental and archeological material performed the FTIR analysis and interpreted the data; N.J.C and J.S lead the excavations at Schöningen F.V wrote the original manuscript with contributions from B.R.A revised and approved the final version of the manuscript The authors declare no competing interests Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations Download citation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-24769-3 Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: a shareable link is not currently available for this article Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science image: Spears from Schöningen in the exhibition at the Forschungsmuseum Schöningen During archaeological excavations in the Schöningen open-cast coal mine in 1994 remarkably well-preserved hunting weapons known to humanity caused an international sensation Spears and a double-pointed throwing stick were found lying between animal bones about ten meters below the surface in deposits at a former lakeshore extensive excavations have gradually yielded numerous wooden objects from a layer dating from the end of a warm interglacial period 300,000 years ago The findings suggested a hunting ground on the lakeshore An interdisciplinary research team from the Universities of Göttingen and Reading (UK) and the Lower Saxony State Office for Cultural Heritage (NLD) has now examined all the wood objects for the first time State-of-the-art imaging techniques such as 3D microscopy and micro-CT scanners have produced surprising results This is the first time that researchers have been able to demonstrate new ways of handling and working the wood such as the “splitting technique” for example to use them in processing hunted animals First author Dr Dirk Leder from NLD says: "There is evidence of much more extensive and varied processing of spruce and pine wood than previously thought Selected logs were shaped into spears and throwing sticks and brought to the site while broken tools were repaired and recycled on site." At least 20 spears and throwing sticks had been left behind on the former lakeshore This doubles the number of known wooden weapons at the site Dr Tim Koddenberg from the University of Göttingen explains: "The extraordinary state of preservation of the Schöningen wood has enabled us to document and identify the woodworking techniques in detail thanks to state-of-the-art microscopy methods.” The wide range of woodworking techniques used as well as the various weapons and tools of early humans show the outstanding importance of wood as a raw material which is almost never preserved from this period The Schöningen finds bear witness to extensive experience in woodworking technical know-how and sophisticated work processes who works at the NLD and the University of Göttingen states: "Wood was a crucial raw material for human evolution but it is only in Schöningen that it has survived from the Palaeolithic period in such quality" Schöningen is therefore part of the internationally outstanding cultural heritage of early humans the site was included in the nomination list for UNESCO World Heritage Site at the request of the state of Lower Saxony The study was funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Ministry of Science and Culture of Lower Saxony Original publication: Dirk Leder et al. The wooden artifacts from Schöningen’s Spear Horizon and their place in human evolution. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2024). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2320484121 Lower Saxony State Office for Cultural Heritage Department of Prehistory and Early History Email: thomas.terberger@phil.uni-goettingen.de https://www.uni-goettingen.de/en/570533.html   Department of Wood Biology and Wood Products Email: tim.koddenberg@uni-goettingen.de https://www.uni-goettingen.de/en/584651.html Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 10.1073/pnas.2320484121 The wooden artifacts from Schöningen’s Spear Horizon and their place in human evolution are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system Copyright © 2025 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Scientists at the University of Tübingen have performed a careful and in-depth analysis of tiny resharpening flakes from the famous Middle Pleistocene site of Schöningen in Lower Saxony which were created as ‘waste’ during the re-sharpening of knife-like tools; they are sorted by size in millimeters In the 2010s, archaeologists unearthed the 300,000-year-old skeleton of an extinct Eurasian straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus) at Schöningen The site is also known for the discovery of wooden spears, the butchered remains of horses and other large mammals, and the remains of saber-toothed cats (Homotherium latidens) “We can prove, among other things, from the new finds that people — probably Homo heidelbergensis or early Neanderthals — were in the vicinity of the elephant carcass,” said Dr a researcher in the Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment at the University of Tübingen “This site is located about 2 m below the famous site of the world’s oldest spears.” Homo heidelbergensis working wood with the help of a scraping tool that was later re-sharpened on the spot of the elephant 300,000 years ago in what is now Schöningen Serangeli and colleagues examined 57 small stone chips and three bone implements for re-sharpening stone tools found in close association with the straight-tusked elephant skeleton “The story of the Stone Age is told mainly via the study of objects worked by our ancestors,” said Dr a researcher in the Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology at the University of Tübingen “One is inclined to believe that large tools such as knives scrapers and points are more significant than simple flakes especially when they are small and really just a byproduct of tool production.” can tell us a lot about the way of life of our ancestors Most of the fragments studied were smaller than 1 cm.” “Through a multidisciplinary approach that included technological and spatial analysis we were able to obtain more of the Stone Age story from these stone chips.” “The small flakes come from knife-like tools they were knocked off during re-sharpening where they stayed when the people moved on with their tools.” Reconstruction of the Schöningen lakeshore as the humans discovered the carcass of the straight-tusked elephant 15 pieces had signs of use typical of working fresh wood “Microscopic wood residues remained attached to what had been the tool edges,” Dr micro use-wear on a sharp-edged natural flint fragment proved that people used it to cut fresh animal tissue.” “Probably this flint was used in the butchering of the elephant.” “These results are further evidence of the combined use of stone as has been documented several times in Schöningen.” “This study shows how detailed analyses of traces of use and micro-residues can provide information from small artifacts that are often ignored,” said University of Tübingen’s Professor Nicholas Conard “This is the first study to produce such comprehensive results from 300,000-year-old re-sharpening flakes.” “The prerequisite for this kind of research is that the artifacts are handled with extreme care from excavation throughout the analyses.” The findings appear today in the journal Scientific Reports Using microartifacts to infer Middle Pleistocene lifeways at Schöningen Researchers shed new light on the famous wooden spears of Schöningen and the implications for early human hunting PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES—Researchers documented well-preserved wooden tools from a Pleistocene archaeological site in Germany Little is known about the use of wooden tools by Paleolithic hunter-gatherers due to the poor preservation of wooden artifacts in the archaeological record Well-preserved wooden tools have been recovered at the 300,000-year-old archaeological site of Schöningen in Germany during excavations starting in 1981 Dirk Leder and colleagues characterized an assemblage of 187 wooden artifacts identified from excavations at Schöningen 13 II-4 The wooden artifacts were made from spruce (Picea sp.) The raw materials would not have been available at the former interglacial lakeshore and must have been transported at least 3–5 kilometers Based on identification of complete and fragmented spears and throwing sticks the authors deduced that the assemblage contained an estimated 20–25 hunting weapons The authors also identified 35 wooden tools likely used in domestic activities Artifacts identified as working debris suggested that tools were repaired and recycled into new tools at the site the findings expand understanding of Pleistocene woodworking techniques and provide insight into early human hunting strategies The age of the spears were originally assessed at between 380,000 and 400,000 years old based on their stratigraphic position at the site, however, later thermoluminescence dating of heated flints in a deposit situated beneath the Spear Horizon showed the spears to be dated between 337,000 and 300,000 years old the spears are widely regarded as the oldest complete wooden weapons and their use in hunting by Middle Pleistocene humans The Schöningen excavation site. P. Pfarr NLD, CC BY-SA 4.0 Schöningen spears as presented at the exhibition of the Forschungsmuseum Schöningen Niedersächsisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege (NLD) Spears and throwing sticks discovered from the Spear Horizon Working traces on the spear point of Spear V Article Source: Edited from the subject PNAS news release *“The wooden artifacts from Schöningen’s Spear Horizon and their place in human evolution,” by Dirk Leder et al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 1-Apr-2024. https://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.2320484121  Who were the Neanderthals, really? Read the in-depth, comprehensive premium article that tells the story in the soon-to-be-released new issue of Popular Archaeology. Join today Subscribe to Popular Archaeology Premium Still the industry's best value at only $9.00 annually Subscribe to Popular Archaeology Premium Still the industry’s best value at only $9.00 annually This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page LBV Magazine English Edition something incredible happened during archaeological digs at an open-pit coal mine in Schöningen Archaeologists found the oldest complete hunting weapons ever discovered ancient spears and a throwing stick buried alongside old animal bones near a lake they dug up a bunch of wooden pieces dating back 300,000 years from a layer that marked the end of a warm period These findings hinted at a spot where ancient people used to hunt near the lake a team of scientists from the Universities of Göttingen and Reading (in the UK) and the State Office for the Preservation of Monuments in Lower Saxony has looked at all these woods using fancy techniques like 3D microscopy and micro-CT scanners Their discoveries have been shared in the journal PNAS they’ve shown us how ancient people crafted wood in new ways They’d sharpen these bits for hunting said they found evidence of way more sophisticated woodwork than they expected It seems these humans were turning selected logs into spears and throwing sticks while fixing up any broken tools right there on the spot they found at least 20 of these spears and sticks This discovery doubled what we knew about wooden weapons from that time Tim Koddenberg from the University of Göttingen was amazed by how well-preserved these pieces were saying it let them see woodworking techniques in incredible detail along with all the different weapons and tools they made It’s rare to find wood from way back then so these Schöningen objects are really special They tell us these ancient people had lots of experience working with wood and knew their stuff thinks Schöningen is a crucial spot in human history because it’s where we can see top-quality preserved wood from so long ago Schöningen is like a treasure trove for learning about early humans it’s even been nominated for the UNESCO World Heritage List Georg-August-Universität Göttingen | Dirk Leder, Jens Lehmann, et al., The wooden artifacts from Schöningen’s Spear Horizon and their place in human evolution. PNAS 121 (15), doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2320484121 Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email Archaeologists from universities in the United States and Denmark found deep within the Actun Uayazba Kab cave in Belize two small stone tools dated between 250 and 900 AD that… men and women gathered to play a game called Cuju A team of researchers has succeeded in recreating for the first time in a laboratory experiment a phenomenon that until now only existed as a theory in the realm of… the Cantonal Archaeology of Aargau carried out a rescue excavation between early May 2024 and the end of March 2025 The Egyptian archaeological mission affiliated with the Supreme Council of Antiquities announced the discovery of a group of defensive structures and a system of moats that could indicate… In the southeastern area of the city of Rome archaeologists excavating inside the Triton Baths within the monumental complex of the Villa di Sette… Why did some animals from ancient eras become fossils while others simply disappeared without a trace A recent study on the cave paintings of the Altamira Cave in Santillana del Mar Cantabria (Spain) has concluded that some of the artworks it contains could be much older… A team of paleontologists from the University of Leicester has managed to decipher one of the many enigmas of the dinosaur era—the exact moment when pterosaurs Rome achieved numerous military victories that allowed it to grow and dominate nearly the entire known world in Antiquity Receive our news and articles in your email for free You can also support us with a monthly subscription and receive exclusive content Powerful new imaging techniques reveal humans were already crafting complex hunting weapons from wood 300,000 years ago Archeologists have previously suspected humans have been using wooden tools for at least as long as stone ones using 3D microscopy and micro-CT scanners to examine 187 wooden artifacts from Schöningen in Germany archeologist Dirk Leder from the Lower Saxony State Office for Cultural Heritage and colleagues have confirmed the suspicions "Wood was a crucial raw material for human evolution, but it is only in Schöningen that it has survived from the Paleolithic period in such great quality," explains University of Göttingen archeologist Thomas Terberger Amidst this stash of wooden artifacts, the largest known from the Pleistocene (2.58 million to 11,700 years ago) were at least 10 spears They were all carved from woods known to be both flexible and hard The tools showed clear evidence of a splitting technique previously only known to be used by modern humans "The way the wooden tools were so expertly manufactured was a revelation to us," exclaims University of Reading paleolithic archaeologist Annemieke Milks Working wood to the discovered level of sophistication is a slow and many-step process, requiring much patience and forethought. What's more, the age of the tools coincides with when Neanderthals were rising to dominance in Europe The site at Schöningen also contained evidence of up to 25 butchered animals "It turned out that these pre-Homo sapiens had fashioned tools and weapons to hunt big game," Terberger told Franz Lidz at the New York Times "Not only did they communicate together to topple prey but they were sophisticated enough to organize the butchering and roasting." These powerful hunting abilities are likely much older than the wood artifacts found in Schöningen These skills would have ensured early humans had access to high-quality food sources for generations providing the capacity for this increase in brain growth and associated cognitive skills "Likewise, [hunting] would have ensured sustainable populations even in less favorable parts of Europe during the Pleistocene and contributed to human range expansion across the globe," Leder and team write in their paper the researchers also found evidence of recycling Tools that had been broken or blunted were reworked for new purposes "The study provides unique insights into Pleistocene woodworking techniques," the researchers conclude "Schöningen's wooden hunting weapons exemplify the interplay of technological complexity Their study was published in PNAS Metrics details An Author Correction to this article was published on 11 May 2020 This article has been updated The poor preservation of Palaeolithic sites rarely allows the recovery of wooden artefacts which served as key tools in the arsenals of early hunters we report the discovery of a wooden throwing stick from the Middle Pleistocene open-air site of Schöningen that expands the range of Palaeolithic weaponry and establishes that late Lower Palaeolithic hominins in Northern Europe were highly effective hunters with a wide array of wooden weapons that are rarely preserved in the archaeological record Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-020-1219-1 Lower Palaeolithic hunting spears from Germany (ed.) Die Schöninger Speere—Mensch und Jagd vor 400.000 Jahren (Theiss-Verlag (eds) Excavations at Schöningen and new insights into Middle Pleistocene adaptations in Northern Europe Overview and new results from large-scale excavations in Schöningen Palynological evidence of younger Middle Pleistocene interglacials (Holsteinian Schöningen) in the Schöningen open cast lignite mine (eastern Lower Saxony/Germany) in Die Chronologische Einordnung der paläolithischen Fundstellen von Schöningen Band 1 (ed E.) 143–154 (Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums The age of the Lower Paleolithic occupation at Schöningen The Middle Pleistocene tunnel valley at Schöningen as a Paleolithic archive The depositional environments of Schöningen 13II-4 and their archaeological implications Excavations at Schöningen and paradigm shifts in human evolution New insights on the wooden weapons from the Paleolithic site of Schöningen Applying use-wear and residue analyses to digging sticks A 600-year-old boomerang fragment from Riwi Cave (South Central Kimberley Contemporary Aboriginal Women and Subsistence in Remote Arid Australia Bordes, L., Lefort, A., & Blondel, F. Study and throwing experimentations around a Gaulish throwing stick discovery in Normandy. EXARCH J. 2015/3 https://exarc.net/ark:/88735/10203 (2015) Why flutes on boomerangs and throwing sticks Les Bâtons de Jet Préhistoriques et Leurs Représentations: Développement d’Outils et de Méthodes Pour la Mesure de Leurs Caractéristiques et l’Évaluation de Leurs Fonctions and baskets (tughbrana) of the Tasmanian Aborigines In Actes Colloques International de Treignes throwing performance and the reconstruction of the Homo erectus shoulder A game string and rabbit stick cache from Borrego Valley Poursuite de l’analyse d’un signe néolithique Veröffentlichungen zum Archiv für Völkerkunde Band 9 (Wilhelm Braumüller Prehistory of Australia (Smithsonian Institution Press Upper Palaeolithic boomerang made of a mammoth tusk in south Poland Ronæs Skov: Marinarkæologiske Undersøgelser af en Kystboplads fra Ertebølletid Une trouvaille de l’ancien age de la pierre: la trouvaille de Braband Les armes de chasse Néolithiques des stations lacustres et palustres Suisses Die Pfahlbauten des Bielersees (Heimatkundekommission Seeland Ancient boomerangs discovered in South Australia A reassessment of the wooden fragment from Florisbad a Kill and Butchery Site Dating From the Northwest European Lower Paleolithic PhD thesis The larger mammal fauna from the Lower Paleolithic Schöningen Spear site and its contribution to hominin subsistence Bone taphonomy of the Schöningen “Spear Horizon South” and its implications for site formation and hominin meat provisioning Download references We thank our colleagues from the State Heritage Office of Lower Saxony and the entire Schöningen excavation team for their support over the last 12 years of research at Schöningen; R Mertens in particular assisted with the field work laboratory research and in the preparation of figures and images This study was funded by the Ministry of Science and Culture of Lower Saxony the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft grant CO 226/22–1 312283 and the Fund for Scientific Research (FNRS) Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment analysed the wooden artefact presented here All of the authors contributed to the text Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations 3D model showing the stratigraphic position of the throwing stick Download citation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-020-1139-0 Archaeologists in Germany have unearthed the oldest known large-scale collection of human-made wooden tools were discovered at a site near Schöningen The found collection includes some early human-made hunting weapons including wooden spears and shorter throwing sticks sharpened at both ends Scientists analyzed the wooden tools using micro-CT scanning and infrared spectroscopy to try to garner a deeper understanding of how the tools were made and exactly what purpose they were designed for wooden artifacts have not been studied to the same degree as bone or lithic tools so this systematic technological analysis sets a new standard for deeper study of wooden tools The double-pointed stick in particular reveals new human behaviors for the time period, according to the results published in the PLOS ONE Journal The spruce branch was debarked and shaped for optimal aerodynamics and ergonomics The study indicates that the wood was seasoned to prevent it from cracking and warping The main purpose of the tool was as a throwing stick for hunting the detailed multi-analytic techniques suggest “Potential hunting strategies and social contexts including for communal hunts involving children,” the researchers write “The Schöningen throwing sticks may have been used to strategically disadvantage larger ungulates [hooved animals such as deer and antelope] potentially from distances of up to 30 meters.” This particular stick was probably lost while hunting after being used for years The age of the tools suggests that the craftsmen were either Homo heidelbergensis or Homo neanderthalensis The craftsmanship of the double-pointed sticks in relation to the time period they date back demonstrates a revelation of new human behaviors for the time period that includes sophisticated woodworking techniques, according to researchers In 2012, a separate collection of tools was discovered at the Schöningen site, those dating back approximately 171,000 years. Scientists determined that those were probably made using fire The recently analyzed Schöningen spears while being a part of the largest-scale ancient wooden tool collection are not the oldest known tools made from wood More than a hundred years ago, in 1911, the oldest known wooden implement was discovered near Essex, England. That artifact, known as the “Clacton Spear” is believed to be the 400,000-year-old tip of a hunting spear Thank you!We have emailed you a PDF version of the article you requested You can also addnewsletters@iflscience.comto your safe senders list to ensure you never miss a message from us IFLScience Home300,000-Year-Old Hunting Weapon Proves Ancient Humans Were Expert WoodworkersComplete the form below to listen to the audio version of this article IFLScience needs the contact information you provide to us to contact you about our products and services You may unsubscribe from these communications at any time For information on how to unsubscribe, as well as our privacy practices and commitment to protecting your privacy, check out ourPrivacy Policy IFLScience HomeJoin for Exclusive FacebookemailBenjamin holds a Master's degree in anthropology from University College London and has worked in the fields of neuroscience research and mental health treatment. FacebookemailDOWNLOAD PDF VERSION The hunting sticks would have been thrown rotationally A finely crafted hunting weapon produced by an ancient hominid species sheds new light on the surprising woodworking abilities of our extinct ancestors Analyzing the killing tool using a series of imaging techniques researchers have revealed how the manufacturer of the 300,000-year-old object selected and treated the raw material before carving and sanding it into an aerodynamic projectile The extraordinary item was originally discovered in Germany in 1994 as part of the world-famous Schöningen assemblage which represents the oldest large-scale record of wooden tools the collection includes a series of spears that were discovered alongside butchered animal remains indicating that the site was once a hunting hotspot during the Middle Pleistocene Initial comparisons with similar weapons used by modern and ancient hunter-gatherers confirmed that these were indeed intended for throwing no detailed morphological analysis of the missiles had been conducted Taking a closer look at one of the throwing sticks the authors of a new study reveal how the creator carefully selected a spruce branch of the right shape Tool marks also indicate how the item was then expertly worked to create an efficient slaughtering device A state-of-the-art Schönigen double-pointed wooden throwing stick made around 300,000 years ago.Image credit: Volker Minkus“The thing that really stood out to us as a team was just what woodworking experts humans were 300,000 years ago,” study author Dr Annemieke Milks told IFLScience “They weren't just choosing a branch they found on the ground and taking a bit of bark off and then throwing it This is a sophisticated tool with multiple steps for woodworking to create something aerodynamic and that would be an effective hunting tool.” Signs of discoloration and polish on the central part of the shaft indicate where it would have been held and suggest that it was used many times before being lost the throwing sticks may have been used to skewer prey from up to 30 meters (98 feet) away and could have enabled ancient hunters to catch smaller “Such tools could have been used by children while learning to throw and hunt.” Citing the recent discovery of ancient children’s footprints at Schöningen Milks told IFLScience that “kids would have made up 50 to 60 percent of these communities and we know that in societies where hunting is important children learn to hunt from a very young age.” Ultimately the researchers can’t say for certain who the weapons were intended for but Milks says “we felt that it was worth bringing the kids into the picture.” although experts are divided over which hominid gets the credit “There are no human remains from Schöningen “So it’s hard to say [who made the throwing sticks] let's keep it neutral and say "human "."  “I think as a team we decided to say this is an open question” The study is published in the journal PLOS ONE HumansT. 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RSS Wooden tools rarely survive in the Paleolithic record limiting our understanding of Pleistocene hunter-gather lifeways the so-called Spear Horizon of the lakeshore site of Schöningen in Germany represents the largest Pleistocene wooden artifact assemblage worldwide Wooden tools include at least 10 spears and seven throwing sticks used in hunting next to 35 newly recognized pointed and rounded split woods likely used in domestic activities The new analysis of the Schöningen tools provides unique insights into Pleistocene woodworking techniques and human behavior connected to wooden artifacts The wooden spears from the Schöningen site Image credit: Minkusimages / Matthias Vogel “The earliest indirect evidence for human woodworking dates back 2 to 1.5 million years ago based on use-wear on stone material,” said Dr Dirk Leder from the Lower Saxony State Office for Cultural Heritage and his colleagues “Direct evidence of wood artifacts coming from Africa and the Middle East date back to 780,000 years ago.” “The discovery of early wooden hunting weapons has revolutionized our understanding of early human hunting abilities “The earliest wooden spears in Europe are 400,000 to 120,000 years old with an outstanding assemblage from Schöningen.” “The earliest throwing sticks are known from Schöningen with later possible examples from Africa.” “The oldest arrows from the German site Stellmoor are of Late Glacial origin dating 11,600 years.” “Digging sticks used in procuring underground storage organs are preserved at few sites in Africa and South America being 400,000 to 14,500 years old.” “Early domestic wooden tools have been reported from a few sites in Eurasia and South America.” the scientists used state-of-the-art imaging techniques such as 3D microscopy and micro-CT scanners to examine an assemblage of wooden tools from Schöningen They were able to demonstrate new ways of handling and working the wood “There is evidence of much more extensive and varied processing of spruce and pine wood than previously thought,” Dr “Selected logs were shaped into spears and throwing sticks and brought to the site while broken tools were repaired and recycled on site.” “At least 20 spears and throwing sticks had been left behind on the former lakeshore This doubles the number of known wooden weapons at the site.” “The extraordinary state of preservation of the Schöningen wood has enabled us to document and identify the woodworking techniques in detail thanks to state-of-the-art microscopy methods,” said Dr an archaeologist at the University of Göttingen “The wide range of woodworking techniques used which is almost never preserved from this period.” “The Schöningen finds bear witness to extensive experience in woodworking technical know-how and sophisticated work processes.” “Wood was a crucial raw material for human evolution but it is only in Schöningen that it has survived from the Paleolithic period in such quality,” said Professor Thomas Terberger an archaeologist at the Lower Saxony State Office for Cultural Heritage and the University of Göttingen “Schöningen is therefore part of the internationally outstanding cultural heritage of early humans.” the site was included in the nomination list for UNESCO World Heritage Site at the request of the state of Lower Saxony.” The findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences PNAS 121 (15): e2320484121; doi: 10.1073/pnas.2320484121 An analysis of a 300,000-year-old double-pointed wooden stick from the Middle Pleistocene site of Schöningen seasoned and sanded before being used to kill animals The 300,000-year-old double-pointed wooden stick at the site of Schöningen in Germany The site of Schöningen in Germany, dated to approximately 300,000 years ago, yielded the earliest large-scale record of humanly-made wooden tools These include wooden spears and shorter double-pointed sticks discovered in association with herbivores that were hunted and butchered along a lakeshore Wooden tools have not been systematically analysed to the same standard as other Paleolithic technologies “Discoveries of wooden tools have revolutionised our understanding of early human behaviors,” said University of Reading researcher Dr “Amazingly these early humans demonstrated an ability to plan well in advance a strong knowledge of the properties of wood and many sophisticated woodworking skills that we still use today.” “These lightweight throwing sticks may have been easier to launch than heavier spears indicating the potential for the whole community to take part.” “The Schöningen humans used a spruce branch to make this aerodynamic and ergonomic tool,” said Dr a researcher with the Lower Saxony State Office for Cultural Heritage “The woodworking involved multiple steps including cutting and stripping off the bark seasoning the wood to avoid cracking and warping An artist’s impression of Homo heidelbergensis hunting birds The 77-cm-long stick double-pointed wooden stick examined by the team was found in 1994 at the Schöningen 13 II-4 site The artifact was most likely used by early humans to hunt medium-sized game like red and roe deer and possibly fast-small prey including hare and birds that were otherwise difficult to catch The throwing sticks would have been thrown rotationally — similar to a boomerang — rather than overhead like a modern-day javelin and may have enabled early humans to throw as far as 30 m the high velocities at which such weapons can be launched could have resulted in deadly high-energy impacts carefully shaped points and polish from handling suggest this was a piece of personal kit with repeated use rather than a quickly made tool that was carelessly discarded “The systematic analysis of the wooden finds of the Schöningen site financed by German Research Foundation provides valuable new insights and further exciting information on these early wooden weapons can be expected soon,” said Dr a researcher with the Lower Saxony State Office for Cultural Heritage and the University of Göttingen The findings were published in the journal PLoS ONE A double-pointed wooden throwing stick from Schöningen Germany: Results and new insights from a multianalytical study PLoS ONE 18 (7): e0287719; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0287719 Researchers from the University of Tübingen and elsewhere have unearthed the cutmarked bones of cave bears at the Middle Pleistocene site of Schöningen in Lower Saxony Bear skins have high insulating properties and might have played a role in the adaptations of Middle Pleistocene hominins such as Homo heidelbergensis depicted here to the cold and harsh winter conditions of Northwestern Europe “Cut marks on bones are often interpreted in archaeology as an indication of the utilization of meat,” said lead author Dr a researcher with the Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment at the University of Tübingen and the Forschungsmuseum Schöningen “But there is hardly any meat to be recovered from hand and foot bones we can attribute such fine and precise cut marks to the careful stripping of the skin.” “A bear’s winter coat consists of both long outer hairs that form an airy protective layer and short dense hairs that provide particularly good insulation needed a highly insulating coat for hibernation.” Verheijen and colleagues examined the 320,000-year-old bear bones from the Schöningen site in Germany The very thin cut marks found on the specimens indicate delicate butchering and show similarities in butchery patterns to bears from other Paleolithic sites Detail of the precise and fine cut marks on the metatarsal of a cave bear from the Middle Pleistocene site of Schöningen in Germany “These newly discovered cut marks are an indication that about 300,000 years ago people in northern Europe were able to survive in winter thanks in part to warm bear skins,” Dr “But how were the bear skins obtained? Schöningen plays a crucial role in the discussion about the origin of hunting, because the world’s oldest spears were discovered here.” “Did the people of that time also hunt bears “If only adult animals are found at an archaeological site this is usually considered an indication of hunting — at Schöningen all the bear bones and teeth belonged to adult individuals.” bear skin must be removed shortly after the animal’s death otherwise the hair is lost and the skin becomes unusable.” it couldn’t have been dead for long at that point.” “The find opens up a new perspective,” said senior author Professor Nicholas Conard a researcher with the Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment and the Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology at the University of Tübingen “The location of the cut marks indicates that the cave bears were also exploited for their skins.” but their pelts were also essential for survival in the cold.” “The use of bear skins is likely a key adaptation of early humans to the climate in the north.” A paper describing the findings was published in the Journal of Human Evolution Early evidence for bear exploitation during MIS 9 from the site of Schöningen 12 (Germany) Archaeologists have discovered three footprints of Homo heidelbergensis — a direct ancestor of Neanderthals — and numerous footprints of elephants and other species of herbivores at Schöningen a well-known Middle Pleistocene site on the eastern border of Lower Saxony in northern Germany The 300,000-year-old fossil footprints at Schöningen 13 II-2 Untere Berme “This is what it might have looked like at Schöningen in Lower Saxony 300,000 years ago,” said Dr a researcher with the Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment at the University of Tübingen Schöningen yielded a number of localities with archeological and paleontological remains representing a rich paleoenvironmental record of the Middle Pleistocene in northern Europe Altamura and his colleagues focused on fossil footprints at two localities: Schöningen 13 I-Fs2 and Schöningen 13 II-2 Untere Berme we conducted a detailed investigation of the fossil footprints from two localities in Schöningen,” Dr together with information from sedimentological provide us with insights into the paleoenvironment and the mammals that once lived in this area.” “Among the prints are three tracks that match hominin footprints This is how it might have looked Schöningen about 300,000 years ago The researchers attributed two of the three hominin footprints to young individuals who used the lake and its resources in a small mixed-age group They think that the hominin was a late form of Homo heidelbergensis at the threshold of the transition to the early Neanderthal and mushrooms were available around the lake,” Dr “Our findings confirm that the extinct human species dwelled on lake or river shores with shallow water.” “This is also known from other Lower and Middle Pleistocene sites with hominin footprints.” “The various tracks at Schöningen offer a snapshot of a family’s daily life and may provide information about the behavior and social composition of hominin groups as well as spatial interactions and coexistence with elephant herds and other this was probably a family outing rather than a group of adult hunters.” In addition to hominin footprints, the scientists analyzed a series of elephant tracks attributed to the extinct straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus) “The elephant tracks we discovered at Schöningen reach an impressive length of 55 cm,” said Dr also from the Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment at the University of Tübingen we also found wood fragments in the prints that were pushed into the — at that time still soft — soil by the animals.” “There is also one track from a rhinoceros — Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis or Stephanorhinus hemitoechus — which is the first footprint of either of these Pleistocene species ever found in Europe.” A paper describing the findings was published in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews Fossil footprints at the late Lower Paleolithic site of Schöningen (Germany): A new line of research to reconstruct animal and hominin paleoecology Quaternary Science Reviews 310: 108094; doi: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2023.108094 a team of scientists from Germany and Switzerland document results of an ongoing analysis of the nine spears and a burnt stick dating to the Holsteinian have now contributed to a better understanding of the manufacture of the wooden weapons ____________________________________________________ the researchers report that the spears are extremely well-preserved and show no or little sign of taphonomic alteration although some of the weapons are broken and parts were slightly moved the excellent preservation conditions have provided considerable information on the operational sequence of production the hunters selected thin trunks of spruce or pine and initially stripped off the bark and smoothing can be observed on the spear surfaces in detail repeated use of the weapon is implied by apparent re-sharpening of the tip The researchers also suggest that analyses of the wood anatomy provides information on climatic conditions at the time of production and contribute to a better understanding of the development of the site The detailed study report is published as an article in press in the Journal of Human Evolution Source: Edited and adapted from the subject abstract and other information sources Read more in-depth articles about archaeology with a premium subscription to Popular Archaeology Magazine.  In addition, the latest Popular Archaeology ebook is now available  ______________________________________________ Travel and learn with Far Horizons ____________________________________________ Schöningen provides the data from changing environments with rich biodiversity which Homo heidelbergensis adapted to over a period of thousands of years Thus it offers new insights into the evolution of the capacities and mechanisms involved in the exploitation of resources and the settlements dynamics The Project Schöningen from an ecological and cultural perspective DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2018.08.020 examined the performance of replicas of the 300,000 year old Schöningen spears - the oldest weapons reported in archaeological records - to identify whether javelin throwers could use them to hit a target at distance Dr Annemieke Milks (UCL Institute of Archaeology) said: “This study is important because it adds to a growing body of evidence that Neanderthals were technologically savvy and had the ability to hunt big game through a variety of hunting strategies It contributes to revised views of Neanderthals as our clever and capable cousins.” The research shows that the wooden spears would have enabled Neanderthals to use them as weapons and kill at distance It is a significant finding given that previous studies considered Neanderthals could only hunt and kill their prey at close range The Schöningen spears are a set of ten wooden throwing spears from the Palaeolithic Age that were excavated between 1994 and 1999 in an open-cast lignite mine in Schöningen together with approximately 16,000 animal bones The Schöningen spears represent the oldest completely preserved hunting weapons of prehistoric Europe so far discovered England dating from 400,000 years ago can be found at the Natural History Museum The study was conducted with six javelin athletes who were recruited to test whether the spears could be used to hit a target at a distance Javelin athletes were chosen for the study because they had the skill to throw at high velocity matching the capability of a Neanderthal hunter an alumnus of UCL Institute of Archaeology made the spear replicas by hand using metal tools They were crafted from Norwegian spruce trees grown in Kent The surface was manipulated at the final stage with stone tools creating a surface that accurately replicated that of a Pleistocene wooden spear which conform to ethnographic records of wooden spears The javelin athletes demonstrated that the target could be hit at up to 20 metres and with significant impact which would translate into a kill against prey This is double the distance that scientists previously thought the spears could be thrown demonstrating that Neanderthals had the technological capabilities to hunt at a distance as well as at close range The weight of the Schöningen spears previously led scientists to believe that they would struggle to travel at significant speed the study shows that the balance of weight and the speed at which the athletes could throw them produces enough kinetic energy to hit and kill a target Dr Matt Pope (UCL Institute of Archaeology) said: “The emergence of weaponry – technology designed to kill – is a critical but poorly established threshold in human evolution “We have forever relied on tools and have extended our capabilities through technical innovation Understanding when we first developed the capabilities to kill at distance is therefore a dark Dr Milks concluded: “Our study shows that distance hunting was likely within the repertoire of hunting strategies of Neanderthals and that behavioural flexibility closely mirrors that of our own species This is yet further evidence narrowing the gap between Neanderthals and modern humans.” The Lower Saxony State Service for Cultural Heritage (NLD) and the University of Göttingen carry out research into the oldest wooden weapons that have ever been found under the leadership of Professor Thomas Terberger NLD and Department of Prehistory and Early History Head of the Department of Wood Biology and Wood Products at the University of Göttingen have been awarded a grant from the German Research Foundation (DFG) with funding of around €480,000 an interdisciplinary team will use state-of-the-art imaging techniques to examine in detail the 300,000-year-old wooden objects from the internationally recognised Schöningen site in the Helmstedt district This will enable them to learn more about the production processes and uses of these uniquely preserved weapons as well as their context within the archaeological site A team of archaeologists from the University of Tübingen and the University of Liège has unearthed a well-preserved wooden throwing stick at the Middle Pleistocene open-air site at Schöningen in northern Germany The 300,000-year-old wooden throwing stick at Schöningen 13 II-4 The locality of Schöningen contains over 20 archaeological sites that date to the Middle Pleistocene and is well known for its exceptional preservation The newly-found throwing stick originates from the best-known of the sites, Schöningen 13 II-4, from which well-preserved throwing spears a push lance and wooden tools of unknown function were unearthed in the 1990s “The chances of finding Paleolithic artifacts made of wood are normally zero,” said Professor Nicholas Conard a researcher in the Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology and the Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment at the University of Tübingen has yielded by far the largest and most important record wooden tools and hunting equipment from the Paleolithic.” sample taken from the broken end of the tool The throwing stick is 64.5 cm long including the small fragmented end The main piece has a length of 63.4 cm with a central and maximal diameter of 2.9 cm The cross-section is asymmetrical with a round and a flatter side “The tool was carefully carved from the branch or the stem of a spruce tree (Picea sp.) the same wood used for 10 out of the 11 artifacts recovered from Schöningen 13 II-4 more than 20 years ago,” Professor Conard and colleagues said The researchers performed use-wear analysis of the artifact using a stereoscopic microscope with magnifications of up to 56 “Use-wear analysis shows how the maker of the throwing stick used stone tools to cut the branches flush and then to smooth the surface of the artifact,” they said “The artifact preserves impact fractures and damage consistent with that found on ethnographic and experimental examples of throwing sticks.” The team hypothesizes that hominins who lived at Schöningen — likely Homo heidelbergensis — used the newly-found weapon to hunt birds or smaller game or to hit larger game such as horses The tool could also have been used to herd large animals in a specific direction for subsequent killing at closer range with throwing or thrusting spears “The throwing stick demonstrates that the hominins of Schöningen used a range of different hunting gear including both close- and longer-range weaponry,” the scientists said “The use of multiple weapon systems is characteristic of all ethnographically documented hunters and gatherers and throwing sticks such as this one would have been effective in combination with other weapons in hunting large Only smaller game could have been hunted with throwing sticks alone.” “The throwing stick provides evidence of the advanced hunting skills and technological sophistication of archaic hominins in Northern Europe during the third to last interglacial complex around 300,000 years ago,” they added “The more recent archaeological and ethnographic examples of throwing sticks demonstrate their use in diverse geographical areas and suggest that they had a wide distribution during the Paleolithic The discovery is described in a paper in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution A 300,000-year-old throwing stick from Schöningen an interdisciplinary team will use state-of-the-art imaging techniques to examine in detail the 300,000-year-old wooden objects from the internationally recognized Schöningen site in the Helmstedt district remarkably well preserved wooden weapons in the Schöningen open-cast brown coal mine dates back to excavations carried out by the Lower Saxony State Office for Heritage in the 1990s; since 2016 the excavation has been carried out by the University of Tübingen Several spears and a lance revolutionized scientific understanding of the technical and intellectual abilities of early hominins in Europe all wooden objects were recovered from the layer named the "spear horizon" of the Schöningen 13 II site and this resulted in a unique inventory being made available for scientific analysis The researchers intend to compile a complete inventory of all the manufactured wooden objects and a detailed documentation of all traces of production the function of the manufactured artifacts will be identified it is essential to investigate the condition in which the wood arrived at the site and which processing steps were carried out there The results of the project will be presented to the public via the Internet and displayed in the Schöningen Research Museum (Forschungsmuseum Schöningen) near the original site About  .  Contact  .  Donation Annemieke Milks from the University of Reading have unearthed remarkable evidence of sophisticated woodworking techniques among ancient human species predating Homo sapiens The focal point of this revelation is a 300,000-year-old wooden throwing stick discovered at the Schöningen site near Hanover was carefully crafted using an intricate process that showcased the ingenuity and skill of its creators The meticulous analysis of the wooden throwing stick enabled researchers to unveil the intricacies of its craftsmanship potentially medium-sized game like red or roe deer as well as agile animals such as hares and birds an ancient craft that has left scant traces over millennia due to the perishable nature of wood was meticulously executed in the creation of this hunting implement underwent a sequence of labor-intensive steps The throwing stick’s aerodynamic design showcased the technological expertise of its creators This wooden projectile was potentially thrown rotationally This method could have allowed early humans to achieve impressive distances of up to 30 meters the velocity of its launch likely resulted in high-energy impacts “The woodworking involved multiple steps including cutting and stripping off the bark seasoning the wood to avoid cracking and warping and sanding it for easier handling,” said Dirk Leder This discovery challenges previous assumptions about the technological capabilities of pre-modern human species “Discoveries of wooden tools have revolutionized our understanding of early human behaviors.” has been a treasure trove of ancient tools These artifacts indicate a rich history of prehistoric hunting practices with early humans utilizing sophisticated tools to secure their sustenance the significance of these findings extends beyond mere hunting implements The research hints at the possibility of communal involvement in hunting where lightweight throwing sticks could have been employed collectively by the community potentially even by children refining their hunting skills Similar practices have been observed in other hunter-gatherer societies where miniature versions of adult weapons were used by children to practice and participate in the hunt now displayed at the Forschungsmuseum in Schöningen stands as a testament to the remarkable ingenuity of the early human species Dr Milks’ investigation has been published in the open-access online science journal and website in this browser for the next time I comment Δdocument.getElementById("ak_js_1").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()) Learn how to describe the purpose of the image (opens in a new tab) Leave empty if the image is purely decorative Recent research has unveiled the sophisticated woodworking techniques employed by early humans in a revelation that significantly broadens our understanding of our ancient ancestors Consequently, this discovery emerges from a collaborative study undertaken by the Lower Saxony State Office for Cultural Heritage (NLD) and the Universities of Reading and Göttingen It highlights the use of wood splitting by early humans Leveraging advanced imaging technologies for the first time researchers employed 3D microscopy and micro-CT scanning to delve into the past Their efforts have brought to light the oldest known complete hunting weapons offer unprecedented insight into the technological prowess of early humans The implications of these findings are profound, marking the first time we have concrete evidence of pre-Homo sapiens‘ engagement in complex woodworking and wood splitting These early humans not only created but also meticulously maintained their hunting tools demonstrating advanced techniques previously unknown published in the prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences unveils a nuanced aspect of early human behavior It reveals that early hunters were not simply fabricating spears and throwing sticks from available materials They were also actively engaging in the repair and recycling of these tools this behavior upends the previously held belief that advanced technological practices were exclusive to Homo sapiens It suggests a level of resourcefulness and foresight in our ancient relatives that was Dr. Dirk Leder of the NLD provided insights into the diversity and complexity of the woodworking techniques uncovered by their research The study reveals that early humans exhibited selectivity in their material choices They opted for specific types of roundwoods to craft into weapons These crafted weapons were then transported to the Schöningen site the research team found that when these tools were damaged or broke and the tools were refurbished for continued use This high level of tool maintenance and recycling reflects more than just an understanding of available materials It also signifies a strategic approach to wood splitting and resource management Adding further surprise to the findings, Dr. Annemieke Milks from the University of Reading expressed astonishment at the exceptional craftsmanship of the wooden tools The research uncovered a significant number of previously unpublished spear and throwing stick fragments This finding highlights the advanced skill level involved in their manufacture this aspect of the discovery highlights an expertise in early human woodworking that was previously unrecognized It suggests that these ancient craftsmen were pioneers adept at manipulating wood into effective tools and weapons The Schöningen site has proven to be a treasure trove of information Researchers discovered at least 20 spears and throwing sticks there dating back to a warm interglacial period 300,000 years ago Subsequently, this significant find, along with other wooden artifacts unearthed over the years emphasizes the critical role of wood as a raw material in the evolution of early humans The wide variety of woodworking techniques observed in the weapons and tools from Schöningen clearly evidences our ancestors’ extensive experience This experience encompasses not just technical know-how but also sophisticated work processes in woodworking this not only illustrates the importance of such skills in their survival and development but also highlights wood’s indispensable role in the technological advancements of early human societies Professor Thomas Terberger, the project leader from the NLD and the University of Göttingen reflected on the significance of wood in human evolution He emphasized that while wood was a crucial material for our ancestors it is only at Schöningen that such artifacts from the Paleolithic period have been preserved in exceptional quality Consequently, this preservation provides unparalleled insights into the technological capabilities and resourcefulness of early humans It enriches our understanding of their culture and ingenuity significantly As we delve deeper into the mysteries of our past the Schöningen findings serve as a poignant reminder of the enduring ingenuity of the human spirit These discoveries contribute significantly to our archaeological and historical knowledge they celebrate the complexity and depth of human creativity through the ages As we continue to uncover the legacies of those who came before us we are reminded of the remarkable journey of human innovation and adaptability shedding new light on the capabilities of pre-Homo sapiens societies and challenging us to appreciate the profound depths of our shared heritage The full study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Like what you read? Subscribe to our newsletter for engaging articles Check us out on EarthSnap, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com In a study published in the journal Scientific Reports a team of researchers from University College London and Nordic Sport (UK) Limited examined the performance of replicas of the 300,000-year-old Schöningen hand-thrown spears to identify whether javelin throwers could use them to hit a target at distance Image credit: University of Utah via kued.org “The emergence of weaponry is a critical but poorly established threshold in human evolution,” said study co-author Dr a researcher in the Institute of Archaeology at University College London The Schöningen spears are a set of ten wooden throwing spears from the Paleolithic Age that were excavated between 1994 and 1999 in an open-cast lignite mine in Schöningen These spears represent the oldest completely preserved hunting weapons of prehistoric Europe so far discovered The study shows that the wooden spears would have enabled Neanderthals to use them as weapons and kill at distance “This study is important because it adds to a growing body of evidence that Neanderthals were technologically savvy and had the ability to hunt big game through a variety of hunting strategies not just risky close encounters,” said lead author Dr also from the Institute of Archaeology at University College London “It contributes to revised views of Neanderthals as our clever and capable cousins.” The study authors made the spear replicas by hand using metal tools The javelin athletes demonstrated that the target could be hit at up to 65 feet (20 m) “Our study shows that distance hunting was likely within the repertoire of hunting strategies of Neanderthals and that behavioral flexibility closely mirrors that of our own species,” Dr “This is yet further evidence narrowing the gap between Neanderthals and modern humans.” External ballistics of Pleistocene hand-thrown spears: experimental performance data and implications for human evolution article number: 820; doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-37904-w The skeleton of the straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus) The 300,000-year-old skeleton of a female straight-tusked elephant was found at the famous Pleistocene site at Schöningen The site is best-known for the discovery of wooden spears, the butchered remains of horses and other large mammals, and the remains of saber-toothed cats (Homotherium latidens) “We found both 2.3-m-long tusks, the complete lower jaw, numerous vertebrae and ribs as well as large bones belonging to three of the legs and even all five delicate hyoid bones,” said Dr. Jordi Serangeli an archaeologist in the Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment at the University of Tübingen “The elephant is an older female with worn teeth,” added Ivo Verheijen “The animal had a shoulder height of about 3.2 m and weighed about 6.8 tons — it was therefore larger than today’s African elephant cows.” “It most probably died of old age and not as a result of human hunting Elephants often remain near and in water when they are sick or old,’ he added “Numerous bite marks on the recovered bones show that carnivores visited the carcass.” the hominins of that time would have profited from the elephant too.” The archaeologists found 30 small flint flakes and two long bones which were used as tools for knapping They also found micro flakes embedded into these bones which proves that resharpening of stone tools took place near to the elephant remains “Elephants that die may have been a diverse and relatively common source of food and resources for Homo heidelbergensis.” “Although the Paleolithic hominins were accomplished hunters there was no compelling reason for them to put themselves in danger by hunting adult elephants,” he said “Straight-tusked elephants were a part of their environment and the hominins knew that they frequently died on the lakeshore.” “With the new find from Schöningen we do not seek to rule out that extremely dangerous elephant hunts may have taken place but the evidence often leaves us in some doubt.” The team’s paper was published in the May 20, 2020 issue of the journal Archäologie in Deutschland A 300,000-year-old hunting weapon discovered in Schöningen reveals that early humans were skilled woodworkers and sanded before being used to kill animals early humans’ woodworking techniques were more complex The new study shows that developing lightweight weaponry may have facilitated group hunts of medium and small animals The light weapons may have allowed for group hunts of medium and small animals and throwing sticks as hunting aids may have involved the entire community The finding of wooden tools has transformed our understanding of early human behaviors, indicating a capacity to plan ahead of time, a solid awareness of wood characteristics The lightweight throwing sticks may have been easier to launch than more giant spears implying that the entire society could have participated Co-author Dirk Leder from the University of Reading said: “The Schöningen humans used a spruce branch to make this aerodynamic and ergonomic tool including cutting and stripping off the bark and sanding it for easier handling.” is one of several tools recovered in Schöningen and a second similarly sized throwing stick was most likely employed by early humans to hunt medium-sized wildlife like red and roe deer and possibly fast-moving animals like hares and birds that were otherwise difficult to catch The throwing sticks would have been hurled rotationally They could have allowed early people to throw up to 30 meters the high velocity they can be thrown could have resulted in lethal high-energy collisions and polish from handling indicate that this was a piece of personal kit used frequently rather than a hastily produced instrument that was carelessly used Principal investigator Thomas Herberger said: “The systematic analysis of the wooden finds of the Schöningen site financed by the German Research Foundation provides valuable new insights and further exciting information on these early wooden weapons can be expected soon.” © 2025 All Rights Reserved, Tech Explorist® Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Cosmos » Archaeology Archaeologists have unearthed the oldest large collection of wooden tools made by humans at a site in Schöningen The artefacts date back to about 300,000 years ago The collection has been analysed before but further analysis has been required to gain deeper insight into how the tools were used The 300,000-year-old tools found at Schöningen were analysed using micro-CT scanning, 3D microscopy and infrared spectroscopy to better understand how they were made and their potential uses. The results are published in the PLOS ONE journal The double-pointed stick in particular reveals new human behaviours for the time period the branch was debarked and shaped for aerodynamics and ergonomics It is believed the wood was seasoned to prevent it from cracking and warping New insights from the detailed multi-analytic techniques suggest that the main purpose of the tool was as a throwing stick for hunting This indicates “potential hunting strategies and social contexts including for communal hunts involving children,” the researchers write “The Schöningen throwing sticks may have been used to strategically disadvantage larger ungulates [hooved animals such as deer and antelope] potentially from distances of up to 30 metres.” “In illustrating the biography of one of Schöningen’s double-pointed sticks we demonstrate new human behaviours for this time period including sophisticated woodworking techniques,” the authors write These are also not the only ancient tools that have been found at the site. In 2012, researchers found that 171,000-year-old tools found at Schöningen were probably made using fire Though it is the oldest collection of wooden tools anywhere in the world the Schöningen spears are not the oldest known tools made from wood In 1911, an artefact now known as the “Clacton spear” was discovered near the English seaside town of Essex It is believed to be the 400,000-year-old tip of a spear SCINEMA runs from August 1 to August 31 every year. Register now to be part of the festival and watch the films for free. REGISTER NOW Home › Historical News By StudyFinds Perspective photograph of the double-pointed throwing stick from Schöningen CC-BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Germany — Archaeologists have unearthed the world’s oldest known big game hunting weapon in Germany was used to hunt large animals such as elephants and rhinoceroses Its length and design enabled early humans to accurately hurl it at grazing animals from distances exceeding 100 feet The weapon demonstrates the sophistication of early human woodworking techniques challenging prior assumptions about their intelligence and skill “Our detailed analysis of the double-pointed stick leaves no doubt that this was a well-planned and finely-finished tool,” according to researchers The discovery was made at the Schöningen Paleolithic site complex in Lower Saxony, Germany, a coal-mining area that has consistently yielded significant archaeological finds since the 1990s an extinct group of hominins known as the “Heidelberg people,” utilized the double-pointed stick to hunt large ungulates that congregated to drink or bathe at a nearby lake “The hominins selected a spruce branch which they then debarked and shaped into an aerodynamic and ergonomic tool,” the researchers write in the journal PLOS ONE “They likely seasoned the wood to avoid cracking and warping and was then rapidly buried in mud.” “The Schöningen throwing sticks may have been used to strategically disadvantage larger ungulates potentially from distances of up to 30 meters,” the team continues The fine surface, carefully shaped points, and evidence of polish suggest this was not a quickly made, disposable item, but a personal tool crafted for repeated use “The Schöningen hominins thus had the capacity for remarkable planning depth resulting in an expertly designed tool,” the team writes “The double-pointed sticks were potentially used to assist the hunting of larger prey but may have also been used for hunting birds and/or small mammals.” were the first humans to build homes and hunt large animals South West News Service writer Mark Waghorn contributed to this report transparent research summaries that are intended to inform the reader as well as stir civil educated debate. We do not agree nor disagree with any of the studies we post we encourage our readers to debate the veracity of the findings themselves. All articles published on StudyFinds are vetted by our editors prior to publication and include links back to the source or corresponding journal article ©2025 Study Finds. 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Privacy Policy • Disclosure Policy • Do Not Sell My Personal Information Elephants ranged over Schöningen in Lower Saxony 300,000 years ago remains of at least ten elephants have been found at the Palaeolithic sites situated on the edges of the former opencast lignite mine a collaboration of archaeologists from University of Tübingen and the Lower Saxony State Office for Heritagehave recovered for the first time in Schöningen an almost complete skeleton of a Eurasian straight-tusked elephant The animal died on what was then the western lakeshore What exactly happened and what the biotope surrounding the area was like 300,000 years ago is now being carefully reconstructed by the team The elephant is an older female with worn teeth as archaeozoologist and Leiden University alumni Ivo Verheijen explains ‘The animal had a shoulder height of about 3.2 metres and weighed about 6.8 tonnes - it was therefore larger than today's African elephant cows.’ The elephant most probably died of old age and not as a result of human hunting ‘Elephants often remain near and in water when they are sick or old,’ says Verheijen ‘Numerous bite marks on the recovered bones show that carnivores visited the carcass.’ However the hominins of that time would have profited from the elephant too; the team found 30 small flint flakes and two long bones which were used as tools for knapping among the elephant bones.  was able to find micro flakes embedded in these two bones which proves that resharpening of stone artefacts took place near to the elephant remains this confirms that flint knapping took place at the spot where elephant skeleton was found The fact that there were numerous elephants around the Schöningen lake is proven by footprints left behind and documented approximately 100 meters from the elephant excavation site Flavio Altamura from Sapienza University of Rome who analysed the tracks tells us that this is the first find of its kind in Germany ‘A small herd of adults and younger animals must have passed through The heavy animals were walking parallel to the lake shore leaving behind circular tracks with a maximum diameter of about 60 centimetres.’ The Schöningen sites have already provided a great deal of information about plants animals and human existence 300,000 years ago during the Reinsdorf interglacial The climate at that time was comparable to that of today but the landscape was much richer in wildlife About 20 large mammal species lived around the lake in Schöningen at that time including not only elephants but also lions ‘The wealth of wildlife was similar to that of modern Africa,’ says Serangeli.  Further detailed analyses of the environmental and climatic conditions at the time of the elephant’s death are taking place at the Technische Universität Braunschweig the University of Lüneburg and Leiden University.  Leiden University has been part of the Schöningen research team for over 25 years under the supervision of emeritus professor Thijs van Kolfschoten To reconstruct the former vegetation directly surrounding the elephant carcass associate professor Mike Field and his students are currently studying the macrobotanical remains from sediment samples taken during the excavation All sediments surrounding the elephant skeleton have been waterscreened during the excavation and André Ramcharan staff member of the zoological laboratory is sorting through the residues to find the remains of microfauna The small mammal remains are currently studied by bachelor student Kaisla Lönnqvist under supervision of Laura Llorente Rodriguez and Thijs van Kolfschoten The remains of small mammals found around the elephant carcass originate from predatory bird pellets and can therefore be used to reconstruct the regional landscape The excavations in Schöningen are financed by the Ministry of Science and Culture of Lower Saxony Paläon is located at the edge of the town of Schöningen and its open-cast lignite mine world-famous Stone-Age find: the Schöningen Spears – the oldest ever hunting weapons used by man It is now also home to the new and emblematic research and experience centre The building conveys the location’s importance as an archaeological site by rising above the natural topography like layered earth Its futuristic shape stems from the horizontal.. IFLScience HomeHumans Were Skinning Bears To Wear Their Fur 320,000 Years AgoComplete the form below to listen to the audio version of this article study author Ivo Verheijen explained that "cut marks on bones are often interpreted in archaeology as an indication of the utilization of meat.”  "But there is hardly any meat to be recovered from hand and foot bones we can attribute such fine and precise cut marks to the careful stripping of the skin," he said "These newly discovered cut marks are an indication that about 300,000 years ago people in northern Europe were able to survive in winter thanks in part to warm bear skins.” the authors explain that ancient humans probably weren’t walking around in bear onesies but would have worn “simple clothing… constituted of animal skins that were wrapped around the body without elaborate tailoring.” Due to their “high insulating properties,” bear pelts would have provided the ideal material for a cozy winter wrap While similar evidence for bear skinning has been unearthed at Paleolithic sites across Europe the findings at Schöningen are among the oldest ever discovered The bones also help settle the debate over whether ancient humans actively hunted bears or simply scavenged furs from dead animals "Schöningen plays a crucial role in the discussion about the origin of hunting, because the world's oldest spears were discovered here," said Verheijen he explains that "if only adult animals are found at an archaeological site this is usually considered an indication of hunting – at Schöningen the study authors explain that bear skins are only usable if they are harvested within a day of the animal’s death the skin will be spoiled through decomposition and ‘slipping’ of the hair,” they say Simply stumbling upon the carcass of a bear that had died of natural causes wouldn’t do much good as humans needed to access the pelt almost immediately after the creature had died Active hunting therefore seems a more feasible method of fur procurement than scavenging although the authors found no spear wounds or other direct evidence of hunting at Schöningen find large numbers of tools that are commonly associated with hide removal and preparation such as “scrapers and smoothers.” Taken together all of this evidence “supports the hypothesis of active hunting by hominins.” The study is published in the Journal of Human Evolution Text description provided by the architects. Architecture The PALÄON pushes itself out of the slightly hilly topography and cuts into the forested meadows.The volume of the three-story building and the paths emanating from it form lines of sight that divide the landscape into vectors. A second winding path system forms synapses that connect to the surroundings. The building is a camouflage – a hyperrealistic abstraction of the landscape. Courtesy of Holzer Kobler ArchitekturenExhibition The experience exhibition, with its presentation of the original site from Schöningen lies at the heart of the project. Memorable images speak to the visitor’s senses and emotions. New findings on our ancestors, the homo erectus, his daily life and the flora and fauna that existed around 300,000 years ago are presented as well as connections to current themes such as climate change and sustainability. Courtesy of Holzer Kobler ArchitekturenCentral to the exhibition design is the sculptural white exhibition structure whose form vaguely resemble those of horse bones a row of theme cabinets form a spatially activating element with views alternating with large-format artwork Highlight to the exhibition circuit is the spears` cabinet that presents the world-wide uniques wooden spears from the stone age Finally the panoramic cinema makes 300,000 years emotionally experiential Courtesy of Holzer Kobler ArchitekturenLandscape For the design of the outdoor spaces of the new research and experience center two complementary form languages were introduced into the landscape.They differ functionally and formally in the newly created park landscape echoing an inter-glacial cycle of primeval times and in the access and gathering areas which are strongly influenced architectonically through the building dense woods will soon cover half of the area of the site To the west and surrounding the PALÄON stretch dappled forests which also accommodate the fenced- in area for the Przewalski horses A curving network of paths leads the visitor to special viewpoints the design of the playground was inspired from extinct primeval animals And from a slightly raised point at one area of the lake the visitor is given an ideal view of where the wild horses reside You'll now receive updates based on what you follow Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors If you have done all of this and still can't find the email Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time Time has not been kind to my mother's hometown of Schöningen this northern German town is a pretty little place half-timbered houses lining the streets that run up to the twin-towered church of St Lorenz that crowns the town beneath that pretty surface lies a troubled place Schöningen has been on a downward spiral for a long time when the Allies split Germany down the middle moved from being in the centre of the country to being on the margin literally the last stop on a road to nowhere I would sometimes take the short walk from my grandmother's house to the border and stare with fascinated fear at the wire fences that separated us from East Germany What kept the town and its 10,000 people alive was the open cast coal mine The empty shopfronts reveal how hard this has hit Schöningen Workers at the coal mine unearthed eight prehistoric spears leading the city to announce its intention to build a museum to hold the spears We could understand the desire to commemorate the most exciting thing that had ever happened in Schöningen We just couldn't understand who would bother visiting the place Thinking it might make for an entertaining story to share with my family A town reborn: The Paläon museum.Credit: Ute Junker The rear of the building looks over the coal mine; the front is flanked by grassy meadows filled with wildflowers where some odd-looking horses graze I recognise them as Mongolian Przewalski horses until my attention is distracted by the museum itself the mirrored building virtually disappears into the landscape It's my first indication that this museum is going to defy my expectations The second indication comes when I meet the museum director He tells me emphatically that "Schöningen is the centre of the world" – for palaeontologists the findings here have upended everything we thought we knew about prehistoric man As he shows me through the museum and its many interactive displays Dr Westphal explains precisely why this is so our only evidence of how stone age man lived was a few simple stone implements Anthropologists assumed that stone age people were primitives who had yet to learn sophisticated skills like talking or fire-making we had no indication of the flora and fauna that would have shaped their world The find at Schöningen has changed all that archaeologists also found rich organic material researchers have known what sort of plants would have been in the area many of which have now been planted outside along a series of exploratory paths We also have a much clearer idea of the wildlife that roamed through central Germany at the time The Przewalski horses outside are the last remaining breed of wild horse the closest we have to the horses that were wandering the plains of Germany Link with the past: The Przewalski horsesCredit: Ute Junker We walk through a display that gives me some chronological context Prehistory has never been my special subject but I do recognise the Neanderthals with their distinctive brows The species we are dealing with is Homo heidelbergensis believed to be the ancestor of both the Neanderthals and Homo sapiens "Just how old are these spears?" I ask Dr Westphal His answer - 300,000 years - stuns me into silence So what was happening here 300,000 years ago this area was the shore of an ancient lake where wildlife Hunters would lie in wait and ambush the horses as they got close to the water They were pretty good at it: remains of at least 36 horses have been found Each was killed and then methodically butchered with stone tools – the markings can still be seen on the bones then carried the parcels of meat to where the rest of the tribe waited probably around where the church now stands It's a long way from our conventional ideas of Stone Age people as helpless and hapless They were smart enough to create both sophisticated hunting strategies and the tools with which to carry them out And they were clearly able to communicate – otherwise how would they have been able to plan their hunts Our visit culminates at the cases where the spears themselves are displayed I'd imagined the spears would be short and stubby and between two and two and a half metres long they are also phenomenally crafted: testing on replicas has proven they can be thrown as far as 70 metres you can't actually make a better spear today," Dr Westphal assures me There is still plenty to learn from the dig There are now scientists from 23 international institutions working onsite One of the unanswered questions is why the spears were left at the lake Some primitive tribes pay respect to the prey which is feeding them and their family Another intriguing question relates to the animal bones All of them have been shattered to get at the marrow – except for the skulls Why did these ancient hunters not touch the head our ancestors already had some concept of a soul and imagined the head as the seat of the soul It's been a fascinating trip into the past for me and it seems I'm not the only one who has been seduced The museum set itself a first-year visitor target of 70,000 the first conclusive evidence of humans and sabre tooths being at the same site at the same time Dr Westphal tells me that the village of Hötensleben has cleverly kept its stretch of the old border It's the largest preserved stretch of the old border in Germany and an important reminder of how things used to be any sense of the future is built on going back into the past Ethiopia The Temple of the Moon may have been erected around 700BC but its sophisticated workmanship is awe-inspiring France Megalithic monuments are found throughout the world but none are as impressive as the 3,000 standing stones outside the village of Carnac Malta Older than Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids Ggantija contains two temples dating back to 3600 BC Spain Beautiful rock paintings of wild animals were made over thousands of years with some dating back as far as 35,000 years Western Australia Thousands of beautiful Bradshaw or Gwion Gwion rock paintings are found throughout the northern Kimberley but most estimates place them somewhere between 17,500 and 60,000 years old palaeon.de germany.travel niedersachsen-tourism.com Emirates operates three flights a day from Sydney and Melbourne to Dubai, with convenient onward connections to four destinations in Germany. For flight information and bookings contact Emirates on 1300 303 777, visit your local travel agent or go to emirates.com/au Schöningen has limited accommodation options: perhaps the best choice is to book a room at Schloss Schöningen More options are available in the nearby city of Braunschweig. The Steigenberger Parkhotel has a convenient setting in one of Braunschweig's picturesque parks. Rooms start from 99 euros per night. See en.steigenberger.com Among the best places to eat is the Ratskeller Schöningen, which serves German and international favourites. See ratskeller-schoeningen.de The Paläon's on-site café is also a good choice The writer travelled as a guest of Emirates Airlines and the German National Tourism Office Sign up for the Traveller Deals newsletter Get exclusive travel deals delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up now Time has not been kind to my mother's hometown of Sch\\u00F6ningen Sch\\u00F6ningen has been on a downward spiral for a long time I would sometimes take the short walk from my grandmother's house to the border and stare with fascinated fear at the wire fences that separated us from East Germany The empty shopfronts reveal how hard this has hit Sch\\u00F6ningen We could understand the desire to commemorate the most exciting thing that had ever happened in Sch\\u00F6ningen We just couldn't understand who would bother visiting the place It's my first indication that this museum is going to defy my expectations He tells me emphatically that "Sch\\u00F6ningen is the centre of the world" \\u2013 for palaeontologists The find at Sch\\u00F6ningen has changed all that Each was killed and then methodically butchered with stone tools \\u2013 the markings can still be seen on the bones It's a long way from our conventional ideas of Stone Age people as helpless and hapless And they were clearly able to communicate \\u2013 otherwise I'd imagined the spears would be short and stubby you can't actually make a better spear today," Dr Westphal assures me All of them have been shattered to get at the marrow \\u2013 except for the skulls It's been a fascinating trip into the past for me and it seems I'm not the only one who has been seduced Dr Westphal tells me that the village of H\\u00F6tensleben It's the largest preserved stretch of the old border in Germany Emirates operates three flights a day from Sydney and Melbourne to Dubai with convenient onward connections to four destinations in Germany For flight information and bookings contact Emirates on 1300 303 777 Sch\\u00F6ningen has limited accommodation options: perhaps the best choice is to book a room at Schloss Sch\\u00F6ningen More options are available in the nearby city of Braunschweig The Steigenberger Parkhotel has a convenient setting in one of Braunschweig's picturesque parks Among the best places to eat is the Ratskeller Sch\\u00F6ningen which serves German and international favourites The Pal\\u00E4on's on-site caf\\u00E9 is also a good choice As every year the Faculty of Archaeology bioarchaeology group has visited Schöningen Germany for field research The site  became world-famous after the discovery in 1995 and publication in 1997 of the Palaeolithic wooden throwing spears used by early hominins (Homo heidelbergensis)  in the region The spears were found among thousands of remains of mainly butchered horses together with other Lower Palaeolithic stone and wooden artefacts In the past year remains of  an impressive carnivore have  been collected during the archaeological excavations by the German team and in the sieving residue of André Ramcharan (Faculty of Archaeology Since 1992 the Leiden research however has focused more specifically on collecting smaller vertebrate fossils mainly different species of mice a group of students of the Faculty of Archaeology Martijn Wezenbeek) visited Schöningen under supervision of André Ramcharan and Thijs van Kolfschoten The students took sediment samples from specific layers (fig After soaking these sediments for a few hours and fractionating the sediment samples using sieves and water (fig The sediment fraction smaller than 1 mm was washed away leaving the larger fractions to be dried and sorted at the site or at the Faculty in Leiden The first results indicate that the layers which came accessible for the first time this year are exceptional rich in vertebrate remains The fossils are from levels of an age of ca 325.000 years This year for  the first time we took a systematic look at fossil insects 3) took sediment samples from the different layers and process the samples in a specific way to collect insect remains In the test samples they took they discovered a large amount of insect remains from a variety of species These insects are highly specific for both climate and ecology This insect dataset therefor helps to reconstruct the palaeoenvironment in which the early hominins operated The analyses of the fossil vertebrate record by students of the Faculty of Archaeology yielded important data that contributes to the reconstruction of the palaeoenvironment during hominin occupation of the region Volker MinkusThe pointy stick was used by early humans possibly Homo heidelbergensis or Homo neanderthalensis a tool maker sat down in present-day Germany with a stick archaeologists who found the stick among other wooden tools in Schöningen believe that it was used by early humans to hunt “Discoveries of wooden tools have revolutionized our understanding of early human behaviors,” Dr. Annemieke Milks, the lead author of a study on the stick published in PLOS ONE and an archaeologist with the University of Reading said in a statement these early humans demonstrated an ability to plan well in advance and many sophisticated woodworking skills that we still use today.” The pointy stick was first found in 1994 among other wooden tools in Schöningen. Cosmos Magazine reports that this collection is considered the oldest collection of wooden tools in the world such as the 400,000-year-old “Clacton spear,” are older Though the tool was found almost 30 years ago it wasn’t until recently that researchers could study it in depth using technology like 3D microscopy This gave them a better understanding of how the tool was made and how it was used by early humans “You can do things like measure and see the profile of a cut mark,” Milks explained Peter PfarrThe pointy stick was found among a cache of other ancient tools in Germany Milks and her team determined that the wooden tool was made of a spruce branch which differentiated it from other wooden objects found at the site So how did early humans use the tools found at the site likely Homo heidelbergensis or Homo neanderthalensis — though no human remains were found at the site — used these weapons as a kind of boomerang to hunt animals “The Schöningen throwing sticks may have been used to strategically disadvantage larger [hooved animals such as deer and antelope] potentially from distances of up to 30 meters,” the researchers explained Milks speculated that early humans used the throwing sticks to stun animals such as deer, rabbits, and birds, before using spears to finish them off. Discover Magazine additionally reported that the stick appears to have dark spots that may be blood or fat Universität TübingenA depiction of how early humans may have used tools like the pointy stick discovered in Germany It could have been used in communal hunts in which children participated or perhaps as toy spears that children played with in order to hone their hunting techniques “These lightweight throwing sticks may have been easier to launch than heavier spears indicating the potential for the whole community to take part,” Milks explained “Such tools could have been used by children while learning to throw and hunt.” Wooden tools from hundreds of thousands of years ago are extremely rare as most have been degraded by bacteria or fungi as time passed “If the wood had been in fluctuating water levels within a couple of years,” Milks noted the wooden tools somehow found their way into the water preserving them and allowing for their study centuries later They cast a fascinating light on how early humans crafted weapons and hunted animals even how young children developed their own hunting skills After reading about the 300,000-year-old pointy stick found in Germany, see how a 2,000-year-old wooden phallic object found in England may be the oldest Roman sex toy ever found. Or, discover the story of the 7,275-year-old well unearthed in the Czech Republic that may be the earliest documented wooden structure ever found Cut marks on the bones of bears show that people in North-West Europe used bearskins to keep warm 300,000 years ago Archaeologists believe that a metatarsal and a finger bone found in Schöningen in Germany are evidence of prehistoric clothing cut marks on bones are often interpreted as evidence for meat consumption But there is very little meat to be found on the bones of the hands or feet The fact that cuts have been found on these bones of a cave bear (a large species of bear that lived in the Pleistocene period) indicate that people used the skin of the bear This is because there is less flesh between the skin and the bones than on other parts of the body and these are more strongly connected.  The discovery was made by a team of archaeologists, including emeritus Professor  Thijs van Kolfschoten and former Leiden student Ivo Verheijen (who now works for the University of Tübingen and the Schöningen Research Museum). They published their study in December in the Journal of Human Evolution The find not only shows that people used bearskins a long time ago Verheijen: 'The skin of a bear has to be removed within several hours to a maximum of one day after its death and the skin will split open and the hair will be lost this is an indication that it cannot have been dead for long at that point This can then serve as indirect evidence that people hunted.'  Stone tools and the world's oldest spears have also been found in Schöningen ‘The combination of finding hunting weapons tools and bones is rather unique,' Van Kolfschoten says ‘It is a further indication that people hunted the finds give us a good image of what took place 300,000 years ago.'  And that image is that people in North-West Europe wore clothing Verheijen: ‘We assume that they didn't walk around naked the temperature was roughly the same as today in December it simply isn't possible to walk around naked We have found very few direct indications for clothing but the cut marks on the bones show that early people probably used bearskins for clothing or to sleep on I think we can all agree today how important it is to keep warm.'   Former archaeology student Ivo Verheijen made a unique discovery in Schöningen in Germany: the almost complete skeleton of an extinct Eurasian straight-tusked elephant The remains show that our ancestors enjoyed the odd elephant steak It was sometime in September 2017 when a team of local archaeologists and archaeology students from the University of Tübingen came across a piece of bone in Schöningen a village somewhere between the cities of Hannover and Leipzig Things are often found in the former lignite mine there (see below) The bone was exceptionally large and dense The students contacted Leiden alumnus Ivo Verheijen He immediately saw that it was the first cervical vertebra of a Eurasian straight-tusked elephant which would have roamed Europe some 300,000 years ago we systematically went through all the soil layers,’ says Verheijen including almost intact tusks of 2.3 metres in length This meant we could reconstruct an almost entire elephant skeleton Sometimes the foot is torn off and dragged away by predators Then they leave it lying a few metres away.’ Almost complete skeletons of the Eurasian straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus) are a very rare find The bones are a fantastic reminder of the powerful beasts that once ranged our continent An adult male straight-tusked elephant had a shoulder height of around 4 metres taller than the double-decker buses that ride round London it must have been in regular contact with the prehistoric humans who lived in what is now Germany The next step for Verheijen and his colleagues was to research how the animal lived and died an archaeologist first assumes it was of natural causes unless proven otherwise we’ve found no traces of cuts or spear marks on the bones This female elephant must have been around 50 years old a normal age for a straight-tusked elephant to die.’ ‘Even if the elephant was not killed by humans there is strong evidence to suggest that the prehistoric Germans wouldn’t have turned down a juicy elephant steak.’ There is another clue suggesting that the elephant died a natural death rather than being killed by our hungry ancestors one reason why the bones have been so well preserved ‘Today’s elephants also go to a watering hole at the end of their life,’ says Verheijen ‘Then it’s easy for them to slake their thirst and the water will cool them down if they’re in pain.’ Because although the elephant was not killed by humans there is strong evidence to suggest that the prehistoric Germans wouldn’t have said no to a juicy elephant steak Verheijen and his colleagues found several flint flakes around the skeleton which indicated that people had sharpened their tools there something that you would only do if you were butchering the carcass Two of these fragments fitted together exactly which means you can conclude with some certainty that the splinter did not come from elsewhere The researchers also discovered two bones with indentations in them These ‘retouchoirs’ were used for flint knapping the researchers found minuscule flint flakes in the bones The researchers were therefore able to channel Sherlock Holmes and conclude that people of the time would have profited from the deceased giant Bite marks show that other animals also discovered the carcass Verheijen and his colleagues published their find in the journal Archäologie in Deutschland They hope soon to publish in a leading scientific journal too but a few remaining mysteries first have to be solved They are particularly curious about the environment in which the elephant lived Leiden researchers are using mice teeth that have been found to discover more about this Leiden University has been conducting research in Schöningen in Germany for over 25 years. Since the discovery of a spear in 1994, it became clear that the distant ancestors of today’s humans had lived there. Since then archaeologists have made many fantastic discoveries, from spears to the skull of a sabre-tooth tiger (in Dutch) ‘The town itself has seen better days,’ says Verheijen ‘The American base disappeared after the Wall fell and the mine closed because of the transition to sustainable energy.’ In the past 25 years numerous students and colleagues have accompanied him and visited Schöningen the city of the spears where many spectacular rare finds have been excavated and still are discovered “These finds give us a more detailed insight in Hominin behaviour and subsistence and forced us to rethink many of our assumptions" said van Kolfschoten.                                          The Council of the City of Schöningen has now honoured the scientist with a special tribute During the Senckenberg conference in the Paläon (Schöningen) Mayor Henry Bäsecke gave him not only an honorary certificate I would like to thank you for your outstanding work which has given the archaeological complex at Schöningen the international recognition it enjoys today." Schöningen has become a kind of second home to me "At no other place did I spend so much time and did so much research than here in Schöningen."