SCIENCE IN PICS: 300,000-Year-Old Hunting Weapons in Germany

Eight stone-age spears are among the well-preserved artifacts that continue to be found at an open-cast brown coal mine in northern Germany.

The javelin-like spears are the oldest known weapons in the world and show that the people who used them were highly skilled craftsmen and hunters.

No human remains have been found in the lignite, but animal remains include bones from lions, rhinos, elephants, and an aurochs.

A water buffalo that may have been domesticated has also been found.

When mining began at the site in Schöningen near Hannover three decades ago, the area now being excavated was beneath the water table. The University of Tübingen researchers therefore describe their work as “underwater archaeology without the water.”

Other relics have been uncovered at the mine, such as parts of amphibians, mussels, and beetles, and also flora like black alder trees, pine cones, and pollen.

The findings are so well-preserved that the researchers can look back at a complete landscape with relevance for research into the ecology and climate of the Quaternary Period as well as palaeolithic archaeology.

Next year, a research center and museum called the “Paläon” will be opened to allow the public to learn about the “Schöningen spears” and other relics discovered there.

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