The Schöningen spears
Spruce throwing spears as old as our species
Between 1994 and 1999 an open-cast lignite mine in Lower Saxony yielded ten wooden spears up to 2.5 m long, lying among the bones of butchered horses. Dated to 337,000–300,000 years ago (a 2025 study argues for about 200,000), they are the oldest complete wooden weapons, balanced for throwing much like a modern javelin.
Wikipedia (Russian) · Wikipedia (English) · Prehistory
Meanwhile around the world (±25 years)
Africa
- c. 300,000 BC The earliest Homo sapiens — same year