Schöningen SpearsSince the spear was the most important weapon of the Germanic people, the word
Schöningen SpearsSince the spear was the most important weapon of the Germanic people, the word ‘spear’ even evolved to the modern day word 'German’, I would like to share some information about the oldest found preserved spears of European history.These spears are known as the Schöningen spears and were found between 1994-1998 at an excavation in a lignite mine in Schöningen, Germany. Beside these weapons, around 16,000 animal bones have been found as well together with other wooden tools. These have all been dated back to 400,000 years ago, even before the Neanderthals existed.The mine in which these spears have been found, was once land close to either a river or a sea. It was visited by human beings and animals throughout several millennia. Mud has preserved the contents of these ancestors exceptionally well. From the sedimentary layers, you can see different climates, from warm phases to ice age tundras.What is special about these spears is that they were used by our evolutionary ancestors, the Homo Heidelbergensis. They are both the ancestors of us, Denisovans and the Neanderthals.These spears are slender and are about 1,82 to 2,25m tall. The Heidelbergensis species were on average about 1,70m tall. They have been made from pine wood and were processed very thoroughly. This is evidence that the Heidelbergensis was an intelligent being with highly developed technological skills. There is even a theory that the Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens did not develop the spear independantly but inherited the skills from our Heidelbergensis ancestors.These spears were used as throwing spears. Their throwing capabilities have been tested by modern day athletes and the result shows that these spears are equal to our modern day tournament javelins. These could be thrown about 70 meters away.The find of these spears have changed our view of the social development of early human species. No longer should we be taught that humans like the Neanderthals, Denisovans and Heidelbergensis were dumb mute brutes. They were intelligent and sentient beings who cared for their sick and dead. They were capable of creating beautiful craftmanship and had sophisticated hunting strategies. They must have had a form of language as well to communicate to each other. They were capable of planning and acting out plans, a gift previously thought only attributed to us.From the invention of the spear by the Heidelbergensis until the invention of modern guns, the spear remained an incredibly important weapon to the West and North Europeans.Here are photos of:the Schöningen spearsA reconstruction of the Heidelbergensis by Javier Trueba -- source link
#prehistory#paleolithic#europe#homo heidelbergensis