The World’s Oldest Arrow Poison Was Discovered In A 7,000-Year-Old Femur Bone
In 1983, archaeologists were excavating a cave in South Africa when they came across a strange-looking femur bone.
It dated back 7,000 years ago and belonged to some kind of antelope. X-rays revealed that three bone arrowheads had been inserted into the marrow cavity.
The femur bone, along with the other artifacts found in the cave, were housed in the University of the Witwatersrand’s Archaeology Department storerooms until 2022.
That was when new archaeological investigations began at the site of Kruger Cave, located in the western Magaliesberg mountains.
As a result, scientists were inspired to take another look at the treasures that were dug up from Kruger Cave. New research has revealed that the femur bone actually contains traces of the world’s oldest multi-component arrow poison.
The ancient poison was made with at least two toxic plant ingredients, and there is evidence of a third toxin. The use of poison for hunting goes much further back than this. It is believed to have originated roughly 60,000 to 70,000 years ago.
The latest discovery is the oldest confirmed use of a combination of two or more plant toxins applied to arrowheads.
The ability to follow complex recipes also points to the intelligence and pharmacological knowledge of the maker.
The X-ray images taken in the 1980s were of poor quality. So, the femur was reexamined using micro-CT scans.
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They showed that the sediment filling in the marrow cavity where the arrowheads had been placed was not regular archaeological sediment. It was a foreign material.
A sample of the material was collected, and its chemical components were analyzed. Two toxic cardiac glycosides were present: digitoxin and strophanthadin.
These toxins inhibit the heart muscle from functioning properly. Historically, both poisons have been known to be associated with bow hunting.
In addition, ricinoleic acid was detected. The acid can occur during the oxidative breakdown of the toxic lectin ricin.
These organic compounds are not found in the same plants. Therefore, multiple ingredients must have been mixed together in order to create a poisonous recipe.
The plants that contain digitoxin and strophanthadin do not grow naturally in the area around Kruger Cave. So, people either traveled far away to find the necessary ingredients or there was an established trade network in the region.
Long before 7,000 years ago, the long-distance transport of seashells had been happening throughout Africa. But the transport of non-domestic plants so early on in the historical record was surprising. This meant that ancient people had extensive knowledge of plants for pharmaceutical use.
Applying poison to weapons is a sign of evolutionary advancement. In most parts of the world, hunters relied on poison to make their weapons more effective.
Overall, the femur bone helped protect the remnants of poison, preventing it from becoming entirely lost to time.
The study was published in iScience.
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