Three discoveries are currently competing for the title of the oldest confirmed prehistoric hunting weapon. The Clacton Spear, discovered in 1911 in Clacton-on-Sea, in Essex, England, is now preserved at the Natural History Museum in London and is presented as the oldest preserved wooden spear fragment in the world. It is a 37-centimeter tip, chiseled from yew wood and sharpened with a tool. It comes from a longer shaft, whose break could result from an accident that occurred during a hunt or from a deliberate act with ritual value. The other part has never been found. Its dating exceeds 400,000 years, placing it well before the emergence of our species, the oldest known fossils of Homo sapiens dating back to about 300,000 years. Therefore, archaeologists attribute it to either Homo heidelbergensis or Neanderthals. The shape, size, and material suggest a thrusting weapon, used in close combat, which implies cooperative hunting strategies. Since 1992, excavations at the Schöningen site in Germany have yielded between twenty and twenty-five wooden weapons: whole or fragmentary spears and javelins, mostly carved from fir and pine. These are the oldest fully preserved wooden weapons in the world. Age estimates vary according to the methods, between 200,000 and 300,000 years. Their manufacture was long attributed to Homo heidelbergensis, a species that lived between 700,000 and 200,000 years ago in Europe, in certain regions of Africa, and possibly in present-day China. A more recent dating, published in 2025, opens the possibility that they may be the work of Neanderthals. The spears average a little more than two meters in length. According to studies published in PNAS in 2024, they served as thrusting weapons, projectiles, or both, to hunt large game. The javelins, shorter, average 65 centimeters in length. The discovery context is eloquent: these weapons were lying among horse carcasses bearing cut marks. The tips had been sharpened, hardened, and blackened with fire, testifying to a technically sophisticated shaping process. For Rolf Warming, this set reveals a precise knowledge of materials and the use of variable hunting tactics depending on the distance to the prey. Discovered in the 1950s, the prehistoric site of Kalambo Falls, in present-day Zambia, is rich in archaeological artifacts. Archaeologists have recently discovered a handcrafted wooden structure dating back about 476,000 years. An astonishing discovery, because we thought that hominids of that time used wood only for fire or to shape pieces of wood for hunting. The stone tips unearthed on this southern African site are dated to 500,000 years. Their edges bear wear marks, and the shape of their base corresponds to that of mounted tips, i.e., fixed to a shaft. It certainly took a lot of courage to attack a mammoth charging at full speed. However, archaeology tells us that this animal was one of the prey frequently hunted by prehistoric humans. How did they manage to overcome this enormous animal? Researchers propose a solution. This age places them before Neanderthals and before Homo sapiens. Considering the location, they could be the work of Homo heidelbergensis, present in southern Africa at that time. Archaeologists consider a use in ambush. However, this argument is contested. No wooden shaft accompanied these tips, which leaves open the hypothesis of simple lithic tools. The evidence is considered indirect by some specialists. The general context feeds this doubt: mounted tips do not become widespread in the archaeological record until between 200,000 and 300,000 years ago in Africa and Eurasia. What the ground did not preserve These three discoveries constitute the oldest available attestations, not necessarily the oldest weapons made. Hominids likely used organic materials, wood, tendons, vegetable fibers, and adhesives, recalls Rolf Warming. These materials degrade and disappear, which structurally biases the archaeological record in favor of stone. A precision is also necessary regarding the attributions. The designation Homo heidelbergensis is subject to debate among paleoanthropologists, some questioning its relevance as a distinct species. The attributions mentioned here remain therefore provisional. A cautious verdict When asked about the oldest known weapon, Rolf Warming considers Clacton to be the most certain answer. He finally notes that the interest of these objects goes beyond their function. They inform us about how our distant ancestors combined materials, mobilized their imagination, transmitted knowledge, and cooperated in groups.