Archaeologists examining projectile points made roughly 60,000 years ago have discovered the presence of a poison made from the South African plant Boophone disticha, locally known as “gifbol,” revealing them as the oldest known poison arrowheads ever found.
The international research team behind the discovery, which included scientists from South Africa and Sweden, said the unexpected detection of residue from a poisonous plant still in use by traditional hunters from the region suggests ancient South African hunter-gatherers had an unusually advanced understanding of natural toxins and how to apply them to hunting tens of thousands of years before the first organized societies emerged.
“This is the oldest direct evidence that humans used arrow poison. It shows that our ancestors in southern Africa not only invented the bow and arrow much earlier than previously thought but also understood how to use nature’s chemistry to increase hunting efficiency,” explained Professor Marlize Lombard, a researcher at the Palaeo-Research Institute at the University of Johannesburg.
According to a statement detailing the new analysis, the team analyzed a set of 60,000-year-old quartz arrowheads discovered in the Umhlatuzana Rock Shelter in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
This analysis revealed a chemical residue on the tips of the arrowheads that appeared to be plant material from Boophone disticha, commonly known as gifbol (the poisonous onion). When the team performed a chemical analysis of the residue, they found buphanidrine and epibuphanisine, two alkaloids found in gifbol, confirming the residue’s identity.
“By carefully studying the chemical structure of the substances and thus drawing conclusions about their properties, we were able to determine that these particular substances are stable enough to survive this long in the ground,” explained Professor Sven Isaksson at the Archaeological Research Laboratory, Stockholm University, an expert in the analysis of organic residues in archaeological materials who carried out the chemical analyses.
Notably, the same substance has been found on 250-year-old poison arrowheads collected from the same region in the 18th century. Isaksson described the discovery of the same poison used in the same way, essentially 60,000 years apart, as a “crucial” observation.
“The fact that the same plant poison was used in both historical and prehistoric times indicates a long continuity of knowledge and tradition,” the researchers explained.
“It’s also fascinating that people had such a deep and long-standing understanding of the use of plants,” Isaksson added.
When discussing the implications of poison arrowheads dating back so close to the expansion of Homo sapiens out of Africa, the researchers note that historians have previously used “indirect” evidence of the use of such projectiles to interpret ancient human hunting practices. However, no direct evidence had been available before now.
The research team also noted that finding this level of sophistication and understanding of toxic substances so deep into antiquity shows these early hunters had skills and abilities typically associated with modern human cognition, such as advanced technical skills, advanced planning abilities, and “an understanding of how poison works over time.”
“Using arrow poison requires planning, patience, and an understanding of cause and effect,” explained Professor Anders Högberg at the Department of Cultural Sciences, Linnaeus University. “It is a clear sign of advanced thinking in early humans.”
For example, this poison does not work immediately, so these ancient hunters likely understood its delayed effect to employ in hunting large animals.
“Because poison is not a physical force, but functions chemically, the hunters must also have relied on advanced planning, abstraction, and causal reasoning,” the authors explained.
Aside from the potentially historic nature of the team’s discovery, Professor Isaksson said the work was a prime example of a “long and close collaboration” between the Swedish and South African research teams.
“Being able to identify the world’s oldest arrow poison together has been a complex undertaking and is incredibly encouraging for continued research,” Isaksson concluded.
The study “Direct Evidence for Poison Use on Microlithic Arrowheads in Southern Africa at 60,000 years ago” was published in Science Advances.
Christopher Plain is a Science Fiction and Fantasy novelist and Head Science Writer at The Debrief. Follow and connect with him on X, learn about his books at plainfiction.com, or email him directly at christopher@thedebrief.org.