Editing Arrowhead (section)

== History ==
{{main|Projectile point}}
{{See also|Chronology of bladed weapons}}
[[File:Nydam bone arrowheads.jpg|thumb|Arrowheads made of bone and [[antler]] found in [[Nydam Mose]] (3rd–5th century)]]
[[File:GREEK. Black Sea Region. Æ Arrowhead Proto-Money.jpg|thumb|[[Ancient Greece|Ancient Greek]] bronze leaf-shaped, trefoil and triangular arrowheads]]
[[File:Arrow-heads.JPG|Some arrowheads made of [[quartz]]|thumb]]
In the [[Stone Age]], people used sharpened bone, [[Flintknapping|flintknapped]] stones, flakes, and chips and bits of [[rock (geology)|rock]] as weapons and tools. Such items remained in use throughout human civilization, with new materials used as time passed. As [[archaeological artifact]]s such objects are classed as [[projectile point]]s, without specifying whether they were projected by a bow or by some other means such as throwing since the specific means of projection (the bow, the arrow shaft, the spear shaft, etc.) is found too seldom in direct association with any given point and the word "arrow" would imply a certainty about these points which simply does not exist.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Glossary M–P |url=http://www.uwlax.edu/MVAC/educators/Glossary/MP.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100311053906/http://www.uwlax.edu/MVAC/Educators/Glossary/MP.htm |archive-date=11 March 2010 |access-date=28 January 2013 |website=Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center at the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse}}</ref>

Such artifacts can be found all over the world in various locations. Those that have survived are usually made of stone, primarily consisting of [[flint]], [[obsidian]], or [[chert]]. In many excavations, bone, wooden, and metal arrowheads have also been found.

The oldest known arrowheads likely date to 74,000 years ago in Ethiopia.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/20/science/early-humans-arrowheads-volcano.html |title=Fossil Trove From 74,000 Years Ago Points to Remarkably Adaptive Humans |work=[[The New York Times]] |first=Carl |last=Zimmer |author-link=Carl Zimmer |date=March 20, 2024 |access-date=2024-03-20}}</ref>  Stone projectile points from 64,000 years were excavated in [[Sibudu Cave]], [[South Africa]]. In these points, examinations found traces of blood and bone residues, and [[glue]] made from a plant-based resin that was used to fasten them on to a wooden shaft. This indicated "[[Cognition#Psychology|cognitively]] demanding behavior" required to manufacture glue.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gill |first=Victoria |date=26 August 2010 |title=Oldest Evidence of Arrows Found |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11086110 |url-status=live |access-date=26 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100826200352/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11086110 |archive-date=26 August 2010}}</ref>

These hafted points might have been launched from bows. While "most attributes such as micro-residue distribution patterns and micro-wear will develop similarly on points used to tip spears, darts or arrows" and "explicit tests for distinctions between thrown spears and projected arrows have not yet been conducted" the researchers find "contextual support" for the use of these points on arrows: a broad range of animals was hunted, with an emphasis on taxa that prefer closed forested niches, including fast moving, terrestrial and arboreal animals. This is an argument for the use of traps, perhaps including snares. If snares were used, the use of cords and knots which would also have been adequate for the production of bows is implied. The employment of snares also demonstrates a practical understanding of the latent energy stored in bent branches, the main principle of bow construction. Cords and knots are implied by use-wear facets on perforated shell beads around 72,000 years old from Blombos. Archeologists in Louisiana have discovered that early Native Americans used Alligator gar scales as arrow heads.

"Hunting with a bow and arrow requires intricate multi-staged planning, material collection and tool preparation and implies a range of innovative social and communication skills."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lombard |first=Marlize |last2=Phillipson |first2=Laurel |date=2010 |title=Indications of Bow and Stone-Tipped Arrow Use 64 000 Years Ago in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa |journal=Antiquity |language=en |volume=84 |issue=325 |pages=635–648 |doi=10.1017/S0003598X00100134}}</ref>