Recent discoveries in KZN indicate that humans used bows and arrows for hunting more than 60 000 years ago.
In August 2010, a report on stone point arrowheads dating back 64,000 years excavated from layers of ancient sediment in Sibudu Cave, South Africa, by a team of scientists from the University of the Witwatersrand, was published. Examinations led by a team from the University of Johannesburg found traces of blood and bone residues, and glue made from a plant-based resin that was used to fasten them on to a wooden shaft. According to the researchers, "Hunting with a bow and arrow requires intricate multi-staged planning, material collection and tool preparation and implies a range of innovative social and communication skills." The findings also indicated "cognitively demanding behavior" required to manufacture glue sixty to seventy thousand years ago.
that’s quite awesome. i allways suspected that the human race had been with-it for longer than we think.
and for a taste of woo-ness, i allso think that there were civilizations, such as the egyptians and mayans, but more advanced, that were destroyed by, oh, let’s say volcanoe’s, disease, take your pick. i’m a sucker for a good atlantis story
Who’s to say it was humanoids using the arrows? I say it was jedi-ninja frogs - aaaiiiiiieee!!!
Seriously though - cool post, thanks Hermes - LOVE this kind of thing. I think some of those civilizations got wiped out by their slaves who, after destroying their cruel captors, went back to their jungles where they recorded their captivity by “gods”. Yes, and some by famine, earthquakes, etc. as well.
makes me think of a book i own, cant remember the name now, but basically comes down to the sumerian texts. it makes loads of sense, to me anyway, but the planet cruising around with an atmosphere being held together with gold dust, as a bit, erm, i dunno.
i think, that untill there is concrete evidence, either in the form of a spaceship with aliens, or a piece of a spaceship, or nasa giving out pics of this planet, i will put it down to people’s imagination and wishfull thinking.
i must confess, i was a huuuuuuge fan of erich von daniken when i was in school, he helped me off my religious horse. and i really like his ideas, even if he’s complete fruitloop.
i will allways be an X phile down to the core. give me a good alien story, and im all over it.
Got in a bit of a fight over the weekend with my friend’s new boyfriend. I know religion is NOT a good topic for a time and place like that, but he brought it up. My friend believes in some sort of ‘superior being’ which most people will call god in some form or another. So when there’s stuff she doesn’t understand, her answer is usually ‘god did it’. This annoys me, but she is entitled to her opinion, as long as she leaves me out of it, I say. Her boyfriend, on the other hand, started shouting at her this weekend, after she once again voiced her opinion that god made the first man and woman. He called her stupid, and ignorant etc etc (which I agree with, but you don’t have to be mean about it) I asked him what his views on the origin of species is, and his response was basically “aliens did it”
I don’t see how belief in little green men who live in the sky and are supposedly responsible for a bunch of unexplainable stuff is any more plausible than belief in a so-called ‘god’. I told him that the two opposing theories are probably equally unlikely. He didn’t understand why I had a problem with his theory … :-\
well, i have a problem with HIM. if he is going to
call her stupid
embarass her in front of friends
scream at her…
then he doesnt respect her for a ball of shit, and she needs to give him the door. soon. and he’s controlling, because he doesnt respect her views, and allows her, her own views, and expects her to adhere to HIS views.
and he’ll probably never will, from one little paragraph, you’ve described a pretty backward individual quite accurately. Your friend doesnt need this type of person in her life…
Humans similar to ourselves have been around for about 200 000 years, although there is, of course, no definite cutoff point. Considering that these arrows are dated at 64 000 years, it would be fairly safe to assume that they were made by humans rather than humanoids.
The San have been using similar arrows up to the current era, so there is no conclusive reason to believe that the people who made these arrows represent an extinct population. A continuous archaeological link over such a long period is unlikely to be found, so it could be difficult to prove ancestry.
The prehistoric bow-and-arrow technology appears to have sprung up at various points around the globe independently. It is certainly not hard to imagine a primitive and slightly bored hunter-gatherer, illuminated by the scarlet glow of his fire, idly flexing a springy twig one moonless night and realizing that it could store energy enough to propel a projectile. Add a lightweight, straight stick and strip of sinew or leather, and the fairly straightforward tool of toxophily is born. The rest - points, poisons, fletches, nocks, and cams - are nothing but refinements.
I think that the slingshot (catapult or kettie) is an even simpler device, with the only reason for the 60,000 year hiatus in its conception being the comparative dearth of red inner tubes prior to the Roman empire.
[/quote]
Holy cow. When did we lose the ability to make glue that actually sticks stuff together?
[/quote]
Good point. Super glue for instance only stick your fingers together and the lid onto the container.
[quote]toxophily is born./[quote]
toxophily ??? Indeed… dis 'n pyl en boog wat gebruik word in sport! die boesmans (hulle laaik nie die woord ‘San’ nie), het gedjag om van te lewe… ek weet ek was saam met hulle!
: