Stone Age Spear - Stone Age Weapons and Inventions

Mar 31
3 min read

A wooden spear with a stone tip stands upright against a deep purple curtain background. The spear has a rustic texture. — A replica of a Stone Age spear

What was a Stone Age spear?

A spear is one of mankind's oldest weapons. The weapon was essentially made up of a long thin wooden stick with a pointed end. The point was sometimes a simple sharpened point, or a flinted rock could be mounted to one end. The spear was a major breakthrough when it came to Stone Age hunting because it's length and throwability meant prey could be taken down from a distance, keeping the hunter out of danger. This wasn't the case for tools like clubs and axes where you had to get up close and personal with your prey.

What were spears used for in the Stone Age?

Spears were primarily used as weapons for hunting animals for food during the Stone Age. They were very versatile tools because they could be used in a number of different ways. A spear could be used as a thrusting weapon; where you hold the shaft with two hands and jab the sharp end towards the animal you want for lunch. It could also be used as a hand-thrown weapon; where you use the spear like a modern-day javelin and chuck it, sharp end first, at your prey. Some clever Stone Age people even invented spear-throwers so they could throw their spears harder and further to make hunting even easier.

Museum exhibit of a prehistoric figure with a spear, wearing fur. Visitors observe nearby. Bright room with wooden floor. — A model of a Stone Age person using a spear with a spear thrower - Image credit Wolfgang Sauber

One of the most popular uses for a spear was for fishing. Fishing was one of the safest ways to get yourself food in the Stone Age (fish weren't quite as big and deadly as animals were at this time) and spear-heads could be adapted with barbed ends to hook and secure the fish.

Wooden carving resembling an animal or tool, with a pointed end and small protrusion. The surface is weathered, displaying natural wood tones. — A barbed harpoon spear-head for fishing

How was a spear made in the Stone Age?

A flint knife with a textured surface and pointed tip, set against a plain dark background. The blade appears ancient and handcrafted. — A spear head from the Neolithic (new) Stone Age. Can you spot the marks where a hard rock has been used to chip flakes off the spear head to give it shape?

First, the hunter would need a long, thin branch. The branch would need to be taken from a tree that provided strong but flexible wood for the spear shaft. The hunter would then shave off the bark with a rock and straighten the branch by heating it on a fire and bending it into shape.

For early Stone Age humans (and those who are in a rush and getting hangry!), the end of the spear would be sharpened to a point with a rock or piece of bone. Job done. Later in the Stone Age, hunters would create a separate spear-head out of stone. To do this, the stone would be shaped by chipping off flakes using a second, harder rock. This technique is called flintknapping. Once the stone spear-head was shaped to a sharp point, it would be attached to the wooden spear shaft with rope made from plant stems or sinew. It could also be glued on with tree sap or tar.

When was the spear invented?

Tonnes of stone spear-heads from the Stone Age have been discovered by archaeologists across the globe. The oldest stone spear-heads have been dated back to around 300,000 to 500,000 years ago. This means these spear-heads were made and used in the Palaeolithic (old) Stone Age.

Unlike spear-heads, spear shafts are a lot harder to find and date because they were made from wood which rots away over time. The oldest spear shafts ever discovered were from 400,000 years ago. These shafts were made from simple wooden branches, shaped and sharpened to a point on one end. You can see them below: