Johannesburg, January 26, 2026 — Sixty thousand years ago, our ancestors weren’t just figuring out how to knap stone tools—they were also mastering the art of chemical warfare. Archaeologists have discovered the oldest direct evidence of poisoned arrowheads, revealing a sophisticated hunting strategy far earlier than previously thought.
Ancient Arsenal: Poisoned Arrows Date Back 60,000 Years
New findings push back the timeline for the use of poison on projectiles to the Pleistocene era, demonstrating early cognitive complexity.
- For millennia, cultures worldwide have employed poisoned weapons for hunting and combat, with historical accounts dating back to ancient Greece and Rome.
- The recent discovery of poisoned arrowheads in South Africa dates back 60,000 years, significantly pre-dating previous evidence.
- The poison used was derived from Boophone disticha, a plant known for its toxic compounds that can cause hallucinations, coma, or even death.
- This finding suggests early humans possessed a deep understanding of plant properties and a complex cognitive ability to apply them strategically.
Poisoned arrows and darts have a long and storied history, utilized by cultures across the globe for both hunting and warfare. Historical documents from Greece and Rome contain recipes for weaponizing poisons, and references appear in Greek mythology, including Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. Similar practices were employed by Chinese warriors, the Gauls, the Scythians, and various Native American populations.
The new evidence, detailed in a paper published in the journal Science Advances, centers on quartz arrowheads unearthed at the Umhlatuzana Rock Shelter in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Researchers found traces of compounds from Boophone disticha, commonly known as gifbol or the poisonous onion, on five of the ten arrowheads tested. This discovery represents the oldest direct evidence of poison being used on projectiles.
Previously, the earliest direct evidence of poisoned arrows dated back to the mid-Holocene period. Scientists had identified toxic glycoside residues on 4,000-year-old bone-tipped arrows from an Egyptian tomb and on bone arrow points from South Africa’s Kruger Cave, dating back 6,700 years. Prior to that, the only indication of Pleistocene-era poisoning was a “poison applicator” found at Border Cave in South Africa, alongside a lump of beeswax.
A Potent Brew: The Chemistry of Ancient Poison
Boophone disticha is a common plant throughout South Africa, and its various parts have been used both as an analgesic—thanks to a volatile oil called eugenol—and as a potent hunting poison. The plant contains several toxic compounds, including buphandrine, crinamidine, and buphanine. Buphanine, in particular, is similar in effect to scopolamine and can induce hallucinations, coma, or even death.
Other poisons historically used on projectiles include curare, a muscle relaxant that causes death by asphyxiation; oleander and milkweeds, which contain cardiac glucosides; and the sap of the ancar tree in Southeast Asia, which causes paralysis, convulsions, and cardiac arrest due to its strychnine content. Aconite species have also been used as arrow poisons in Siberia and northern Japan.
What was the earliest evidence of poison use for hunting before this discovery? The only prior evidence was a “poison applicator” found at Border Cave in South Africa, along with a lump of beeswax.
The findings underscore the ingenuity and complex cognitive abilities of early humans, demonstrating a sophisticated understanding of the natural world and a willingness to harness its power for survival. The use of poison on projectiles wasn’t simply a matter of chance; it required knowledge of plant properties, careful preparation, and a strategic mindset.
