300,000-Year-Old Pointy Stick Found In Germany Is Among Oldest Documented Wooden Tools Made By Early Humans

Volker Minkus

A toolmaker sat down in modern-day Germany with a stick hundreds of thousands of years ago. They sanded the wood down, removed the bark, and cut the ends into points.

Researchers now think that early people used the stick to hunt after discovering it in Schöningen together with other wooden items.

"Discoveries of wooden tools have revolutionized our understanding of early human behaviors," said Dr. Annemieke Milks, an archaeologist at the University of Reading and the lead author of a paper on the stick that was published in PLOS ONE.

Benoît Clarys, Universität Tübingen

“Amazingly, these early humans demonstrated an ability to plan well in advance, a strong knowledge of the properties of wood, and many sophisticated woodworking skills that we still use today.”

Among other wooden implements, the sharp stick was initially discovered near Schöningen in 1994.

The oldest wooden tool collection in the world, according to Cosmos Magazine, is this one. (Personal wooden implements are older, though; one is the "Clacton spear," which dates to 400,000 years ago.)

Although the instrument was discovered about 30 years ago, it wasn't until recently that researchers were able to examine it in detail using tools like 3D microscopy. 

They were better able to comprehend both the creation of the tool and its use by the earliest humans as a result.

“You can do things like measure and see the profile of a cut mark,” Milks explained.

According to New Scientist, Milks and her team's discovery that the wooden instrument was made of a spruce branch distinguished it from other wooden artifacts discovered at the location, which were made of spruce trunks.

So how were the tools used by early humans at the site?

Although no human remains were discovered at the site, archaeologists believe that early humans, most likely Homo heidelbergensis or Homo neanderthalensis, utilized these weapons as a type of boomerang to chase animals.

“The Schöningen throwing sticks may have been used to strategically disadvantage larger [hooved animals such as deer and antelope], potentially from distances of up to 30 meters,” the researchers explained.

Milks speculated that early humans first stunned animals like deer, rabbits, and birds by throwing sticks before killing them with spears. The stick appeared to have dark blotches, which Discover Magazine said may be blood or fat.

The light and manageable stick, according to the researchers, may have been used by kids. It might have served as toy spears that kids used to practice their hunting skills or it might have been used in collective hunts in which kids took part.

“These lightweight throwing sticks may have been easier to launch than heavier spears, indicating the potential for the whole community to take part,” Milks explained. “Such tools could have been used by children while learning to throw and hunt.”

The majority of wooden tools from hundreds of thousands of years ago have been destroyed by fungi or bacteria over time, making them extremely rare. However, the tools discovered in Germany were preserved because they were submerged in water.

“If the wood had been in fluctuating water levels, [it] would have rotted pretty quickly, within a couple of years,” Milks noted.

Fortunately, the wooden instruments made it into the water, where they were preserved and could be studied decades later. They shed fascinating insight into the development of early humans' hunting prowess as well as how they made their weapons and harvested their prey.