In a landmark excavation, archaeologists working with the University of Connecticut in the United States have uncovered what is believed to be the oldest known use of bows and arrows beyond the African continent. The discovery emerged from a sustained research effort that has been published in Science Advances. The team’s work sheds new light on how early modern humans spread into southern Europe and how technological innovations may have shaped those migrations.
The site under study is Grotto Mandren, a cave where human remains and tools indicate a human presence dating back roughly 54,000 years. Within this shelter, the researchers identified more than 300 discrete clues that hold potential significance for understanding early hunting technology. Among the finds, some artifacts are remarkable in size, with the largest measuring about 6 centimeters and the smallest around 10 millimeters. Damage traces and impact marks have been detected on roughly 200 of these items, underscoring the intensity and variety of activities carried out at the site during the occupation period.
Determining the exact function of these artifacts proved challenging for the team. To test hypotheses about their use, researchers created 82 replicas of flint tips and assembled historic-style launch tools to simulate how these points might have been employed in hunting. In controlled trials, an archer tested arrows against spears by targeting a goat carcass. The results indicated that the smaller, lighter flint tips performed best for archery, enabling more precise flight and deeper penetration. Arrows consistently penetrated well beyond the skin, reaching depths greater than 25 centimeters, whereas spears tended to lodge shallowly, puncturing only the outer layers. This experimental approach provided crucial evidence supporting the interpretation that these artifacts functioned in a bow-and-arrow technology rather than as raw spear points alone.
Scientists conclude that the cave dwellers represented some of the earliest Homo sapiens in this region, a population that likely migrated from Africa into areas where Neanderthals were already present. The newly analyzed artifacts appear to be the oldest confirmed examples of a composite hunting technology combining a bow with arrows, a combination that would have given Homo sapiens a tactical advantage over Neanderthals in the same landscapes. This static point in the archaeological record helps historians trace how early humans adapted their hunting strategies to diverse environments, potentially influencing settlement patterns, resource exploitation, and social organization at the time.
Beyond the immediate implications for hunting technology, the discovery contributes to broader questions about human evolution and cultural exchange. The complex toolkit recovered from Grotto Mandren highlights a nuanced repertoire of tasks—from tool production and maintenance to hunting strategy and coordinated group activity. By linking physical remnants to practical experiments, researchers illuminate not only what was created but how it could have been used in real hunting contexts. The interpretation aligns with evolving views about early modern human creativity, problem-solving abilities, and rapid adaptation as populations moved into new environments. These insights come from ongoing analyses and peer-reviewed reporting in the scientific literature, where evidence is continually reassessed as new finds emerge from field and laboratory work. The study’s conclusions emphasize that technological breakthroughs—like the bow and arrow—often arise within specific ecological and social frameworks and can catalyze shifts in how communities organize themselves around food procurement and survival. (Science Advances, attribution to the journal reporting the study)