The Throwing Spear that launched us to Victory By Alexander Davis

As far back as archeological evidence of homo-

sapiens goes, it is clear that we have used tools to

fight. Primitive sticks, hammers or axes allowed us

to use our hands to defend ourselves, strengthened

our legs allowing us to walk upright and gave us an

edge when fighting for mates. Our “killing power”

was limited to the reach of our arm, the strength of

our muscles and the limited wit that we had at our

disposal to use them.

But things must have changed at some point,

weapons of complex design and manufacture have

been discovered and dated to times that could

possibly be as far back as 400,000 years ago. The

Schöningen spears, discovered in a coal mine near

Hannover, Germany are some of the oldest hunting

weapons ever found and by their design are clearly

throwing spears.

Early humans used these weapons in a variety of

ways, to hunt for game, to defend their tribes and to

raid other tribes. But one of the most interesting

ways that they use them, I attest, was to enact the

extinction of one of our oldest cousins; the

Neanderthals.

I attribute our success and the Neanderthals

extinction to many different

factors, but the human

intellects ability to increase

our “killing power” in the

form of the throwing spear

must have been big. In

general, our ability to outthink

the Neanderthals was what put

them in their graves.

Throwing spears were the very first “manufactured”

ranged weapons used by homo-sapiens in prehistory.

Manufactured means in this case, any weapon that is

constructed and honed for the purpose, setting it apart

from perhaps, rocks that could also have served as

throwing weapons in the long history of human

evolution. Throwing weapons were the first ranged

weapon that added real, tangible physical distance

between the killer and the killed. This provided a

tremendous psychological advantage to the

aggressor, allowing him more ease when delivering

the killing blow.

Throwing weapons also provided safety in their

distance, an enemy must close the distance with you

to attack you, whilst you have the advantage of

being able to attack from a distance before your

enemy gets to you and attacks. Ranged weapons are

the epitome of using intelligence to replace physical

ability; they were used to make up essentially for the

fact that humans did not possess biological weapons

such as claws or teeth such as other animals.

Homo-sapiens main military advantage over the

Neanderthals was the throwing spear and it is not

entirely clear whether the Neanderthals had the

resources, intellect, or ability to match the homo-

sapiens in this respect.

Fezschöningen. Hartmut Thieme Excavator Shows Speer VI in

Fund Situation. Digital image. Wikipedia. Lower Saxony State

Office for Monument Preservation, 15 Oct. 2007.

Wilkens, Jayne. Evidence of Hunting with Spears 500,000 Years Ago

Suggests Common Ancestor of Humans and Neanderthals Was 'very

Bright' Digital image. Www.theguardian.com. Alok Jha, 15 Nov.

2012. Web. <http://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/nov/15/stone

*

Neanderthals are our distant primate cousins that

broke off from us in the evolutionary chain,

sometime around the Homo heidelbergensis, around

300,000 years ago. They were very similar to us in

DNA, almost 99.9 percent identical.

There is clear

archeological and

biological evidence

that our ancestors and

the Neanderthals

shared the continent

of Europe as their

home at some time

around the last ice age,

for many thousands of

years. We even appear

to have interbred with

them at some point, as

traces of Neanderthal

DNA can be found in modern humans today.

Neanderthals were stout and strong, with larger

ribcages and heads than us, thick bones and stronger

arms. They had a lower center of gravity, were

physically more imposing than homo-sapiens and

were excellent grapplers, able to take down their

prey with brute force. Archeological evidence shows

that Neanderthals used manufactured weapons to

hunt their prey at close range, spears and other

weapons aided them, but there is little evidence to

support the Neanderthals use of throwing weapons.

Many studies have been undertaken to discover the

answer: physical studies with volunteers, computer

simulations, throwing machines with controlled

variables and all different experiments. But experts

cannot agree on a conclusion.

Studies have shown that Neanderthals did not use

throwing weapons, or at least did not make much

use of them due to the fact that they were

predominantly close range fighters. Their humerus

(upper arm bones) show thicker growths in the front

and back, rather than side to side, a growth that

would only have been possible after repeated

jabbing motions with a spear. Yet some tests and

experiments being conducted in more recent times

have shown that Neanderthals could and did use

throwing spears.

Lack of clear anatomical, skeletal and archeological

evidence has ensured that the debate about whether

Neanderthals used ranged weapons is certainly not

over. Modern tests of muscle and bone usage and

development have been conducted but mixed results

have only served to lengthen the debate.

Irregardless of whether the Neanderthals widely

used ranged weapons, it is obvious to all parties that

human were better at it. We had greater skill with

ranged weapons, greater capacity to use them and

greater ability to improve upon the technology with

other adaptations, such as advanced spear-throwers

like atlatls.

Neanderthals were more physically robust than their

homo-sapien cousins that is clear from archeological

evidence; but humans were more intellectually

capable. Our intelligence had been honed on the

African continent for tens of thousands of years

before our ancestors first came to southern Europe

to compete with the Neanderthal, in that span of

time we had grown to be fully modern humans.

Our new intellect allowed us to construct better

accommodations, make better fires and even use the

Sophisticated Hunters Use Long-

range Weapons. Digital image.

Www.newscientist.com. Kurt Kliener,

21 Nov. 2002. Web.

1Dixon, E. James, 1999, Bones, Boats, & Bison: Archeology of the

First Colonization of Western North America. University of New

Mexico Press, Albuquerque.

night sky to track prey during the seasons. All these

clear advantages made us better hunters and

survivalists, despite the fact that Neanderthals were

more physically adapted to the cold of their

environment than we were. But our ability to

construct, and use ranged weapons must have been a

key factor in our trouncing the Neanderthals in

prehistory.

A skilled warrior with a well-made throwing spear

would have been a decisive edge against any

prehistoric opponent, be it a hungry wolf, or a

Neanderthal. Ranged weapons have proven over

themselves over the centuries, their deadliness and

their superiority in relation to close combat

weapons. It was a clear and obvious disadvantage

for the Neanderthal that he could not, or would not

throw his spear and gain that mechanical leverage

over his prey.

Neanderthals were more physically robust than their

homo-sapien cousins, but humans were smarter. Our

intelligence allowed us to construct better

accommodations, make better fires, and even use the

night sky to track prey during the seasons. But our

ability to construct, and use ranged weapons must

have been a key factor in our trouncing the

Neanderthals in prehistory.

Projectile weapons are complex to make, early

humans solved their problems with technological

innovation whilst Neanderthals did not. Thus, the

throwing spear was the first instance in our human

history of our intelligence gifting us with killing

power. This killing power elevated us in deadly

contests not only with our prey, but with our

competitors on the hunting ground.

Because ranged weapons worked so well, ranged

weapon users and their families prospered and were

more successful at passing on their genes; thus did

ranged weapon users eventually beat out those who

did not use them.

The throwing spear was the natural human

launching point for the growth of our “killing

power”, it was all uphill from there. With technical

additions to the throwing spear, we found that we

could make it more deadly. With greater mechanical

inventions we would soon turn the throwing spear

into a fast, multi-spear launching weapon system

known as the bow and arrow. Soon, one hunter

could comfortably kill his prey from a distance,

collect his prize and return to his tribe victorious, for

such little effort.

It all began when humanity applied its intellect to

the task and we have never looked back. Though

there have been many casualties along the way, our

Neanderthal cousins among them, for worse or for

better we have chosen this road.

By Alexander Davis

De Lazaro, Enrico. "Homo Heidelbergensis as Skilled Hunter."

Www.Sci-news.com. Sci- News, 17 Sept. 2012. Web. 7 May 2015.

Grossman, Dave. "Chapter Four: Killing at Close Range." On Killing:

The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society.

Boston: Little, Brown, 1995. 115. Print.

Q. Choi, Charles. "At Least 20% of Neanderthal DNA Is in Humans."

Www.livescience.com. Live Science, 29 Jan. 2014. Web.

Benton, Adam. "Could Neanderthals Throw." Www.evoanth.com.

Evoanth, 21 Feb. 2013. Web.

2Bloom, Dan. Left Behind: While Early Humans Hunted with Wolves,

Their Neanderthal Rivals in Europe Continued Using Primitive Tools

without Any Help, According to Anthropologist Dr Pat Shipman.

Digital image. Www.mailonline.com. Mail Online, 1 Mar. 2015.