First poison arrows may have been fired 70,000 years ago in Africa

By Michael Marshall

A San hunter-gatherer hunting kit, thought to be 150 years old

Marlize Lombard (with permission

Hunter-gatherers in Africa may have been using poison-tipped arrows for over 70,000 years, according to a new analysis of ancient arrowheads.

This would be the oldest known use of poison arrows in the world, says Marlize Lombard of the University of Johannesburg in South Africa.

In southern Africa, Kalahari San people have used poison-tipped arrows to hunt for thousands of years. They often obtain poisons from the intestines of the larvae of Diamphidia leaf beetles. But it is not clear when this practice started. …