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2024-11-11

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Instead of Thrown, Spears Were Planted in the Ground to Kill a Charging Mammoth (www.discovermagazine.com)

submitted 4 months ago by FlyingSquid@lemmy.world to c/science@lemmy.world

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[–] Transporter_Room_3@startrek.website 22 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I'm sure so much of our history is more or less completely unknowable simply because the remains all degraded quickly.

How many things made out of wood that simply rotted away, or burned or any one of a thousand things.

Stone tools were a game changer in every sense.

[–] Peppycito@sh.itjust.works 5 points 4 months ago (2 children)

I would posit string being the real game changer. How do you think they got the stone on the end of a stick?

[–] abigscaryhobo@lemmy.world 13 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Honest answer, usually animal sinew, or certain grasses could be used as well. The nice thing with string, once it was figured out was you could make as much as you could, and make it as long as you wanted.

[–] Peppycito@sh.itjust.works 10 points 4 months ago

I totally count sinew as string. That probably led to plant string. Think about really fine string, or thread, and think about how many miles of it you carry around on you every day. It's crazy how taken for granted it is!

[–] Transporter_Room_3@startrek.website 2 points 4 months ago

How do you think they got the stone on the end of a stick

For a long time, they didn't.

Hand stone tools predate everything except sharpened sticks as spears.

Without the Olduvai tools, we have no civilization.