Humans had long-range weapons — that could fly 250 feet — 31,000 years ago, study says

Brendan Rascius
Tue, November 7, 2023 


Photo from the University of Liège

About 31,000 years ago — long before the birth of civilization — humans were constructing long-range weapons to hunt prey.

The weapons, known as thrusters, could be used to launch arrow-like objects over 250 feet, according to a study recently published in the journal Scientific Reports.

The existence of thrusters has long been known, but because they were fashioned from organic material — like wood — few have been found. Typically, only stone tips stand the test of time, and these are difficult to attribute to specific weapons.

Because of this, there’s been widespread disagreement within the scientific community about how long thrusters have been in use.

Now, researchers have used a pioneering technique to precisely date them, according to a Nov. 2 news release from the University of Liège in Belgium.

Researchers fastened replicas of flint points found at archaeological sites to various weapons, including spears, bows and thrusters. The weapons were then fired, and the flint points were analyzed for damage.

After being launched, each weapon left a unique mark on the flint tips, allowing researchers to pinpoint them to specific weapons.

These replica tips were then compared to 31,000-year-old flint tips found at an archaeological site along the banks of the Haine River in Belgium. The replica tips launched from thrusters unmistakably matched the ancient tips, researchers said.

This discovery places the invention of thrusters back earlier than previously thought, researchers said.