The first page I go to when Current Archaeology or Current World Archaeology drops through my letterbox is that of Chris Catling. It is always interesting and well researched, a regular feature in both journals, and on a variety of subjects. At Current World Archaeology 138 [August 2026] on page 60, the Catling column has a well written and researched piece on ancient technology, with a focus on hunting strategies. See https://www.world-archaeology.com. Hand axes had multiple uses and were not confined to hunting – if at all. If you had laboured over constructing one for hours would you lob it at a beast in the hope of hitting it in a vulnerable location. Why not use a more quickly shaped piece of stone? Some hand axes are quite beautifully made and may have been kept for reasons other than as tools or weapons. When it comes to arrowheads it is a quite different situation. They obviously have a hunting role and could also be used against hostile humans too. These have been in the archaeology news recently, as some of them were found in caves in South Africa, 40 km north of Durban. One of the caves revealed evidence also of the use of aromatic leaves with insecticidal properties in order to create pest free bedding, a distinct technological advance. The bedding is up to 200,000 years of age. Stone and bone arrowheads go back at least 60,000 years ago – in the same cave. They used beeswax and tree sap as a glue to attach them to a wooden shaft. Poison tipped arrows are also venerable, found in a nearby rock shelter. The poison is thought to have stunned animals and allowed humans to get closer to inflict the kill.
A recent study challenges the belief that early humans threw spears at their prey, while out hunting. Rather than use spears as projectiles it is proposed they wedged one end into the ground. This allowed the weight and speed of the charging animal to import ten times greater force than could be achieved by a muscular arm and shoulder. A series of such spears wedged in the ground would have been even more lethal. See https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0307996 … This strategy is actually depicted in cave art. However, other cave art also depicts humans brandishing spears – see https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-37904-w …
Then we have fishing and the creation of artificial canals and systems to channel fresh water fish into a killing zone, mimicking the channels used on land to corral animals – in Arabia for example. Medieval duck decoys worked on the same principle. Catling gives an example from the Maya heartland that goes back prior to the great monumental phase of their history. See https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adq1444 …These artificial constructs go back a long way and can be found around the world. The Australian Aborigines had a similar system of controlling fish in order to catch them more easily, and fish weirs are a common feature of early European peoples. In the Mesolithic period for example.
No mention of the spread of boomerangs in early societies, or the instrument used to make a noise like a roaring bull. There are numerous other technological advances that go way back in human history, which spread around the globe – or were regional in provenance. He could have filled all the pages of that issue of Current World Archaeology to further his point. However, he concentrated on recent research – especially from South Africa. He even mentions wooden spears from the Middle Palaeolithic period found in a lignite formation in Germany. Lignite is half formed coal and probably came about during a catastrophic event of some kind, burying huge amounts of vegetation. It is unclear if the wooden spears or shafts of spears, were actually within the lignite or close to it, deposited after the lignite. I shall have to research that one but I’m sure I’ve done a post on this at some point in the past.