Archaeologists have uncovered traces of plant toxins on arrowheads dating back 60,000 years in South Africa, providing the oldest direct evidence of ancient hunters using poisons. This discovery pushes back the known timeline for such practices by tens of thousands of years. The findings highlight early human sophistication in exploiting plant biochemistry.
In a significant archaeological breakthrough, researchers led by Marlize Lombard from the University of Johannesburg have identified toxic alkaloids on five quartzite arrowheads excavated in 1985 from the Umhlatuzana rock shelter in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. These artifacts, dated to 60,000 years ago, contain buphandrine and epibuphanisine, substances likely derived from the milky exudate of Boophone disticha plant roots. This sticky material could be applied directly to arrow points or processed into a resin by heating and drying.
Prior evidence for poison use on arrows dated only to about 8,000 years ago. A 2020 study analyzed points from 50,000 to 80,000 years old and noted design similarities to recent poisoned tips, including one bone point coated in a sticky liquid, but could not confirm toxins. The new analysis, however, provides conclusive proof on multiple artifacts.
"If we found it on only one artefact it could have been coincidental," Lombard explained. "But finding it on five out of 10 sampled artefacts is extraordinary, suggesting that it was deliberately applied 60,000 years ago."
The poison remains in use among the San people of southern Africa today, potentially continuously for 60,000 years. It kills rodents within 30 minutes and induces nausea or coma in humans, while for larger game, it likely slowed prey to aid tracking and pursuit. Lombard speculates the substance was discovered through accidental ingestion of the plant's bulbs, which also offer preservative, antibacterial, and hallucinatory effects in traditional medicine—though overdoses still cause deaths.
To validate their results, the team tested arrows collected in the 1770s by Swedish naturalist Carl Peter Thunberg, detecting the same alkaloids. Sven Isaksson from Stockholm University emphasized the finding's importance: "We know that humans have been using plants for food and tools for a very long time, but this is something else—the use of biochemical properties of plants, such as drugs, medicines and poisons."
The research appears in Science Advances (DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adz3281), underscoring early Homo sapiens' advanced knowledge of their environment.