Schöningen Spears

The Schöningen spears are a set of ten wooden weapons from the Palaeolithic Age, excavated between 1994 and 1999 from the 'Spear Horizon' in the open-cast lignite mine in Schöningen, Germany[1]. The spears are the oldest hunting weapons ever discovered, found together with animal bones and stone and bone tools[1]. They provide unique proof that early human ancestors possessed complex social structures and technical abilities closer to modern humans than previously thought[1]. The excavations were managed by Hartmut Thieme of the Lower Saxony State Service for Cultural Heritage[1].