In 1994 an incredible set of spears and other weapons were found on the site of Schoningen in Germany. These weapons were studied at the time and experts suggested that they were around 400,000 year old, made them by far the oldest artifacts like this in the world.

A new study published in the journal Science Advances analyzed the deposits where the spears were found and determined that the previous estimate was likely far too old. Instead, they say that the weapons were likely made and used just 200,00 years ago.

While just have of what the previous estimate was, if the spears are 200,000 year old, they would still be the oldest artifacts of this type ever found, which makes them just as impressive.

The set of artifacts found included nine full spears, one lance, and a variety of other weapons including throwing sticks. The believe is that these spears were used by Neanderthals to hunt horses and other animals in the region.

The author of the study, Dr. Jarod Hutson, talked with IFLScience about the new study, saying:

“What we have at Schöningen is the earlier side of Neanderthal behavior, which fills in a gap that we didn’t have before and gives a very clear picture of what was going on with Neanderthals 200,000 years ago.”

He goes on to talk about the fact that this is in line with the earliest estimates of when the ancestors of humans would have started hunting as a pack rather than individually. He explains:

“To achieve this level of routine success, hunting forays at Schöningen… must have been wholly collaborative and group-minded efforts motivated by a communal set of objectives.”

It is not surprising that the development of this type of weapon and the advancement of group hunting would take place around the same time. These weapons are excellent options for group hunting. It would not be clear which developed first, the weapon or the method of hunting. He went on to talk about how these people would have hunted many different types of animals thanks to their ability to work together:

“It looks like at least their hunting behavior was probably pretty similar [to ours], and they were able to take down animals of many different sizes with pretty good success.”

Trying to determine exactly when specific artifacts were created is difficult, but can be done with various methods of analysis. Learning more about the tools, such as these spears, can also help to teach experts more about how people lived at a given time in history. Piecing together information about our ancient ancestors is very difficult, especially when looking back 200,000+ years.

The more evidence that can be gathered, the more accurate these theories are likely to be.

Imagining Neanderthals hunting with spears and other primitive weapons as a group is incredible, but it seems very likely.

It is these types of advancements that help to push our ancestors forward.

If you thought that was interesting, you might like to read about why we should be worried about the leak in the bottom of the ocean.