Archaeologists have found exceptionally well-preserved remains of Stone Age archery equipment in a cave in southern Spain. Among the finds are arrows made from previously unknown wood and artfully twisted bowstrings made from animal sinews, which are among the oldest in Europe. The artifacts show how prehistoric archers around 7,000 years ago manufactured weapons with sophisticated flight characteristics by cleverly selecting suitable materials and combining them ingeniously. The Neolithic hunters were therefore more technically skilled than previously known.
Around 54,000 years ago, our ancestors in Europe used bows and arrows to hunt animals, possibly also for wars and rituals. People in the Stone Age predominantly used yew wood (Taxus baccata) for their uniformly shaped bows, but a wide variety of materials and shapes for their arrows. The arrowheads were usually made of stones, bones or wood, as archaeological finds show. But until now, little was known about which materials and methods people used to make their bowstrings and arrow shafts and how they assembled bows and arrows. Because these components of the equipment are easily perishable and have rarely survived.
Archery equipment from the Neolithic period
Now a team led by Ingrid Bertin from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) has examined in more detail exceptionally well-preserved organic remains of bows and arrows that miners found in the Los Murciélagos cave in the southern Spanish province of Granada in the 19th century. Due to the dry cave air, the weapon parts dried out and were largely preserved. “Such conservation offers a rare and extraordinary opportunity to explore the elements that are otherwise usually missing in archeology due to their ephemeral nature,” explains the team. The finds do not include complete bows, but two bowstrings, the remains of arrows including shafts, arrowheads and feathers, as well as glue and fibers to hold them together.
Bertin and her colleagues used spectroscopic and microscopic analysis methods to identify the materials used and used radiocarbon dating to determine how old these prehistoric weapons are. The analyzes showed that archery equipment was manufactured in the early Neolithic period between 5300 and 4900 BC, making it around 7000 years old. They were likely placed in the cave as grave goods – a common practice at the time, the team explains. Only one arrow shaft turned out to be significantly younger: “It dates from the Bronze Age – this corresponds to the last known prehistoric use of this cave,” report the archaeologists.
Artfully twisted bowstrings
A special feature are the two Stone Age bowstrings. They consist of collagen-containing animal tendons or ligaments and are among the oldest bowstrings of this type ever found in Europe. The material for the bowstrings comes from three domestic animal species: deer, the genus Capra sp., which includes several species of goats and ibex, and the genus Sus sp., which includes wild boars and pigs. In order to make bowstrings from them, the prehistoric builders twisted the individual animal tendons into constructs that were three millimeters thick and around 30 or 60 centimeters long. “This technique made it possible to create strong and flexible ropes to meet the needs of experienced archers,” explains senior author Raquel Piqué of UAB. “This level of precision and technical mastery, where every detail counts, is a testament to the exceptional knowledge of these Neolithic craftsmen.”
The Stone Age hunters constructed the arrow shafts, which were up to 30 centimeters long, from locally growing tree species: willow wood (Salix sp.), olive wood (Olea europaea) and reed wood (Phragmites sp). The straight branches, which were up to one centimeter thick, were debarked, partially sharpened and then polished smooth, as the analyzes revealed. The finds from Spain confirm the assumption that reed was also used to make prehistoric arrows. “This type of material gives an arrow stiffness, good impact resistance, stable flight with moderate rotation, a high degree of aiming accuracy and important penetrating power,” writes the team, referring to flight tests of replicas.
Type of wood determines the trajectory of the arrows
For the first time, archaeologists also identified an arrow made of olive wood from the Neolithic period. “Heavier arrows made from denser wood like olive tend to have less wind resistance and maintain their trajectory better, especially over longer distances. In addition, olive wood can be polished to a very smooth surface. A smooth arrow shaft reduces friction when leaving the bow, resulting in a smoother and more precise flight,” explain Bertin and her colleagues. Interestingly, the Neolithic hunters did not always use just one type of wood for their arrows, but also combined harder olive wood with lighter and more flexible willow and reed wood in the shafts. “This integration offers a hard and dense front section, complemented by a light back, which significantly improves the ballistic properties of the arrows,” explains Bertin.
In addition, the arrow shafts were partially coated with black birch pitch, as chemical analyzes showed. This tar-like, tough material is created when birch bark is heated. The pitch probably impregnated and strengthened the shaft, but could also have been used for decorative purposes, the archaeologists suspect. Accordingly, the Neolithic hunters manufactured their archery equipment not only from a practical and functional point of view, but also from an aesthetic point of view. To attach the wooden arrowheads and feathers to the arrow shafts, the builders also used fibers from animal sinews and probably also birch pitch as glue.
The choice of materials for weapons demonstrates Stone Age know-how
Given the variety of plant and animal materials used, the researchers conclude that the prehistoric hunters already had extensive know-how regarding the properties of organic materials and their processing into bows and arrows. Accordingly, these Neolithic communities were more technically adept than previously thought. “The discoveries contribute to enriching the understanding of the craft practices and daily life of prehistoric societies,” says Piqué.
With this knowledge, the construction of other weapons from other archaeological sites from the European Neolithic period could now be examined and what they were used for could be clarified. “Future experiments could clarify whether these arrows could have been used for hunting or close combat, or whether they could have been non-lethal arrows,” said Bertin.
Source: Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB); Specialist articles: Scientific Reports, doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-77224-w