For decades, we’ve believed that Ice Age humans hunted massive animals like the mammoth and saber-toothed cat by throwing spears. However, a new study could turn that notion on its head. Instead, researchers now believe that the humans who lived during that time period may have relied on spears planted in the ground—like spikes—instead of throwing spears.
This is quite a far cry from the usual belief that humans used to run after these massive beasts, throwing spears at their sides, hoping to land a killing blow. That form of hunting was much more primitive, whereas setting up traps for these creatures tells a bit of a different story—maybe humans weren’t quite so unintelligent back then.
The revelation is highlighted in a new study featured in PLOS One. According to the study, the researchers have been trying to figure out exactly how the Clovis people of North America used to hunt large animals nearly 13,000 years ago. The most likely solution to Ice Age human hunting practices seems to have been spears planted in the ground.
Since the late 1920s, researchers have uncovered more than 10,000 Clovis points throughout North America. These points are sharp spears with slender designs that often had tips made of chert, obsidian, jasper, and other stone, the researchers note. They were also usually indented at the base, which suggests they would have been attached to spear shafts.
To determine just how Ice Age humans hunted, though, the researchers had to set up simulations to see how large animals like mammoths would react to a thrust or toss of a spear with a Clovis point attached to it. They found that the injuries wouldn’t really correlate. Instead, the spears would have likely needed to be planted into the ground.
The act of chasing down animals and throwing spears at them certainly makes the hunting of ancient creatures seem more glorified—and far more primitive. However, the idea that ancient humans could have been using more ingenious means is definitely the more likely truth.
Of course, all of this is based on simulations that scientists may someday disprove as we learn more about Ice Age humans and their hunting practices. For now, though, it seems that the Clovis people may have relied on spears lodged in the ground to impale animals versus the glory-seeking action of chasing a mammoth down and bringing it to its knees by sheer brutal force.
