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60,000-Year-Old Poison Arrows: Oldest Ever Found

Ars Technica - All content •
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A groundbreaking archaeological discovery has revealed 60,000-year-old poison arrows, marking them as the oldest of their kind ever found. According to the research, ancient hunter-gatherers likely created these lethal projectiles by extracting a toxic substance from the milky bulb of the *Boophone disticha* plant. This finding is significant because it pushes back the timeline for complex chemical knowledge and weapon technology by tens of thousands of years.

It demonstrates that early human ancestors possessed sophisticated understanding of local botany and its practical, and deadly, applications. The use of such a specific plant for poison indicates a transfer of advanced knowledge across generations, providing a fascinating glimpse into the cognitive and survival capabilities of our ancient relatives.