“Archaeologists Unearth Ancient Mystery: 7,000-Year-Old Poison Arrowheads Discovered in South African Cave’s Strangest Find!”
Imagine stumbling upon ancient arrowheads that not only hint at the ingenuity of our prehistoric ancestors but also reveal their flair for toxic mixology! In a remarkable discovery at the Kruger Cave in South Africa, researchers unearthed bone arrowheads dating back a staggering 7,000 years, skillfully coated with a cocktail of some seriously potent poisons: ricin, digitoxin, and strophanthidin. That’s right—these were not your average hunting tools. They were precision-designed to immobilize prey, showcasing an advanced understanding of botany and pharmacology far ahead of their time. The implications are mind-boggling; could it be that our ancestors were not just survivalists but also early pioneer chemists with a taste for the dramatic? Join me as we unravel this incredible find, shedding light on how ancient humans wielded nature’s deadliest secrets to become formidable hunters in a competitive world. LEARN MORE.
Perhaps the world’s oldest weapons equipped with a multi-ingredient poison cocktail, these arrowheads were laced with deadly ricin as well as digitoxin and strophanthidin, which can stop the heart.
Dr Aliénor DuhamelA scan of the 7,000-year-old antelope femur that contained the three poison-coated arrowheads.
In 1983, archaeologists excavated Kruger Cave in South Africa and found a 7,000-year-old femur bone that belonged to an antelope. Researchers then noted something unusual about the bone: three bone arrowheads had been embedded into its marrow cavity.
However, researchers at the time did not follow through with a more thorough examination of these arrowheads. In fact, the bone was tucked away in storage at the University of Witwatersrand for nearly four decades until new archaeological investigations at Kruger Cave in 2022 prompted a re-examination of the femur and the arrowheads embedded within it.
