Hunters in South Africa Were Using Complex Poison Arrows 60,000 Years Ago

New chemical analysis of quartz microliths from South Africa confirms that humans were skilled with poison long ago.

Picture a hunt in Pleistocene South Africa, roughly 60,000 years ago.

The weapon is a delicate bow launching a tiny, quartz-tipped arrow. On its own, this small shard of stone is merely a nuisance to a large antelope. It might cause a scratch, but certainly not a kill. However, the hunter isn’t relying on the stone. They’re relying on chemistry.

In a landmark study published in Science Advances, researchers have uncovered the “molecular smoking gun” of this ancient technology. By analyzing microscopic residues on quartz blades from the Umhlatuzana Rock Shelter in KwaZulu-Natal, scientists have confirmed that humans were applying lethal, plant-based poisons to their arrowheads tens of thousands of years earlier than previously confirmed.

“This is the oldest direct evidence that humans used arrow poison. It shows that our ancestors in southern Africa not only invented the bow and arrow much earlier than previously thought, but also understood how to use nature’s chemistry to increase hunting efficiency,” says Professor Marlize Lombard, a researcher at the Palaeo-Research Institute at the University of Johannesburg.

Molecular Time Travel

Poisoned arrows are a common trope in fiction, but they were a very real part of our history. Before this study, definitive chemical evidence of poisoned arrows only stretched back to approximately 6,000 years ago. The earliest direct proof previously came from toxic residues found on bone-tipped arrows in an Egyptian tomb dated to 4431–4000 years ago, and cardiac glycosides identified on points from Kruger Cave in South Africa dated to roughly 6700 years ago.

Researchers had a hunch the technology was older. They kept finding tiny stone tools at ancient sites that looked suspicious — too small to kill on impact, yet clearly used for hunting. But proving the existence of organic poison after 60,000 years is a massive chemical challenge.

To solve this, the research team employed Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS), a technique usually reserved for modern forensics. They analyzed ten quartz microliths from a sediment layer dated to 60,000 years ago. The results were clear: five of the artifacts tested positive for buphanidrine and epibuphanisine. Both are potent neurotoxins. Buphanidrine, derived from a plant commonly known as the “Bushman’s poison bulb,” has been used by several African cultures to make poison.

It’s remarkable that these ancient humans knew how to poison, but the way they applied it was also remarkable. It wasn’t just smeared on. The residue distribution suggests it was mixed into an adhesive, likely resin or gum, to help affix the stone tip to the shaft.

“Finding traces of the same poison on both prehistoric and historical arrowheads was crucial,” says Professor Sven Isaksson. “By carefully studying the chemical structure of the substances and thus drawing conclusions about their properties, we were able to determine that these particular substances are stable enough to survive this long in the ground,” he continues. “It’s also fascinating that people had such a deep and long-standing understanding of the use of plants.”

The “Gifbol” Connection

The specific plant identified, Boophone disticha (locally known as “gifbol” or poison bulb), is a botanical powerhouse indigenous to Southern Africa. It produces a milky exudate that, when processed, becomes a potent neurotoxin.

The researchers note that while the bulb’s juice can be used raw, it is often dried into a gum or reduced by cooking to concentrate the toxins.

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Once introduced into the bloodstream via a small cut from the arrow, the alkaloids go to work. In humans and animals, symptoms include muscular flaccidity and respiratory paralysis, and it can be lethal. This transforms the arrow from a projectile into a delivery system. The hunter doesn’t need to drop the prey instantly; they just need to nick it, then track the weakening animal until the chemistry takes its toll.

Big Brain Poison

The very idea of making poison suggests a massive cognitive leap. Unlike a spear, where the cause (thrust) and effect (damage) are immediate and visible, poison acts invisibly and over time.

The researchers argue that this demonstrates a “knowledge system” far beyond simple tool-making.

“Using arrow poison requires planning, patience and an understanding of cause and effect. It is a clear sign of advanced thinking in early humans,” says Professor Anders Högberg at the Department of Cultural Sciences, Linnaeus University.

The hunter must harvest the plant, process the toxin, and manufacture the weapon days or weeks before the hunt. They must understand that a substance which makes you sick when eaten can kill an animal when injected.

The inhabitants of Umhlatuzana Rock Shelter were innovating in a remarkable way. They understood their environment intimately, identifying the lethal potential in the beautiful pink flowers of the Boophone and engineering a weapon that leveled the playing field against beasts ten times their size.

The study was published in Science Advances.


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