Archaeologists discovered a 7,000-year-old antelope femur in South Africa containing evidence of a poison used for arrowheads. Chemical analysis revealed the presence of toxic cardiac glycosides and ricinoleic acid, indicating a mixture of plant ingredients. This finding pushes back the evidence for poison use in Africa and highlights the sophistication of ancient pharmacological knowledge.
The ultimate action-packed science and technology magazine bursting with exciting information about the universeEngaging articles, amazing illustrations & exclusive interviewsCT-scan thin section through the center of the bovid femur. The three bone arrowhead fragments and poison substance are visible.
I am an archaeologist who's interested in the organic materials preserved at Kruger Cave and in protecting the site for future generations. Along with other scientists from the University of Johannesburg, I suspected that the femur contained more than just sediment and degraded marrow.
This study also highlights the potential contribution of archaeobotany and organic chemistry to our understanding of the past. It also shows how these two disciplines can work together to tell the story of our past.The X-ray images taken in the 1980s were of relatively poor quality. So we decided to re-image the femur using micro-CT. This process essentially uses thousands of X-rays to reconstruct artifacts in three dimensions, at very high resolution.
None of the plant species that contain digitoxin and strophanthadin occur naturally in the vicinity of Kruger Cave. The remains of these plants have also not been detected in archaeobotanical studies of the excavated material. This would suggest that either people were traveling long distances to acquire their ingredients or that there was an established trade in these floral commodities.
Science History POISON ARROWHEADS ANCIENT AFRICA ARCHAEOLOGY PHARMACOLOGY
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