Ice Age Spear Points Tell a Fascinating Story of Human Progress

Imagine you’re suddenly transported to the wilderness, hundreds of miles from civilization, with nothing other than what you’re carrying with you right now. The way you view your personal effects would likely change drastically. With no cell towers or electricity, your cherished phone is useless, the money in your wallet is only good for fire tinder, but the drawstring on your sweatpants could be used as a fishing line, or maybe a snare to catch dinner.

The value we place on things is contingent on our circumstances and subject to change as they do. Anthropologists from the University of Mississippi and the University of Alabama recently demonstrated this in a study of stone spear tips belonging to two groups of hunter-gatherers who settled in the Tennessee River Valley during different time periods. Read more: “The Emergence of a Deadly Hunting Technology in Prehistoric North America” The Clovis people were the first humans to settle in the region around 13,200 years ago.

As strangers in a strange land, it’s likely they were more uncertain where to source the sedimentary rock they needed to fashion weapons. That’s probably why their stone spear tips showed signs of resharpening, the researchers say. Instead of resharpened tips, the researchers found usable spear points that had been discarded.

So what made the Cumberland people relatively more wasteful? According to the team, they likely learned where the rock came from their Clovis forebears, which made carrying spear points around less valuable. In fact, there are six high-tech landers gathering moon dust on the lunar surface right now.

It’s something that’s not lost on the researchers. It’s the exact same process.” Enjoying Nautilus? Subscribe to our free newsletter.

Lead Image: Kevin Bain/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services