Schöningen Spears

The Schöningen spears are a set of ten Palaeolithic wooden weapons that were excavated between 1994 and 1999 from the 'Spear Horizon' in the open-cast lignite mine in Schöningen, Helmstedt district [1]. The spears are among the oldest hunting weapons yet discovered and were found together with animal bones and stone and bone tools [1]. The excavations at the Schöningen site took place under the management of Hartmut Thieme of the Lower Saxony State Service for Cultural Heritage [1]. The Schöningen spears are the oldest complete wooden weapons and among the oldest known worked wooden implements [1]. The spears were constructed from Norway spruce as well as pine [1]. The spears were found associated with numerous bones of the extinct horse species Equus mosbachensis that display cut marks indicative of butchery [1]. The complete spears vary in length from 1.84 to 2.53 m, with diameters ranging from 29 to 47 mm [1].