Sascha is a U.K.-based trainee staff writer at Live Science. She holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Southampton in England and a master’s degree in science communication from Imperial College London. Her work has appeared in The Guardian and the health website Zoe.
Researchers who thought ancient hunters threw spears to kill mammoths and mastodons may have got the wrong end of the stick, archaeologists say. Instead of hurling weapons at prehistoric beasts, hunters likely used their weapons like pikes, impaling the beasts as they charged, a new study suggests.
The new study, which was published Aug. 21 in the journal PLOS One, builds on decades of research into ancient weapon tips known as Clovis points. Clovis points, which date to around 13,000 years ago, get their name from a small town in New Mexico where they were first discovered nearly a century ago during archaeological excavations.
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.Wood disintegrates quickly, meaning archaeologists have never recovered wooden shafts dating to the Clovis culture, according to the statement. They have found bone shafts, however, which they think hunters attached to the front end of wooden spears to hold the Clovis point in place.
They found that the weapon could withstand forces equivalent to and higher than a mammoth charging into it, meaning the spear would pierce the animal's skin and penetrate its tissues if hunters braced it like a pike. The spear broke in half when the researchers applied forces equivalent to hitting the bone of a charging mammoth, meaning a pike would eventually break, but only after impaling the animal.
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