Clever, tech-savvy Neanderthals 'were long-distance killers' [View all]

Clever, tech-savvy Neanderthals 'were long-distance killers'



John von Radowitz

January 26 2019 2:30 AM


Neanderthals had the brains to build weapons of long-distance destruction, research has shown.

A team of javelin athletes helped scientists prove the extinct cousins of modern humans were far more efficient hunters than previously thought. Experts had assumed Neanderthals lacked the technology and skill to kill from a significant distance with their crude, wooden spears.

The new study paints a very different picture of their abilities. Using accurate replicas of Neanderthal spears dating back 300,000 years, the javelin throwers managed to hit a target up to 20 metres away.

This was double the distance scientists had believed the "Schoningen" spears could be thrown.

More:
https://www.independent.ie/world-news/europe/clever-techsavvy-neanderthals-were-longdistance-killers-37751015.html