Who Invented The Spear & When?

The spear is mankind's most widely used weapon but who invented it and when? Join me, Stefan Milo, as I discuss the stone age origins of the spear.
If you like discussions on archaeology and anthropology, consider subscribing.
goo.gl/vWV8sB
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
www.stefanmilo.com
Historysmilo
historysmilo
------------------------------------------------------------------
Sources:
Pruetz, Jill D., and Paco Bertolani. “Savanna Chimpanzees, Pan Troglodytes Verus, Hunt with Tools.” Current Biology, vol. 17, no. 5, 2007, pp. 412-417., doi:10.1016/j.cub.2006.12.042.
Roberts, Alice. Evolution: The Human Story. Dk Pub, 2018.
Scarre, Christopher. The Human Past World Prehistory and the Development of Human Societies. Thames and Hudson, 2018.
Thieme, Hartmut. “Lower Palaeolithic Hunting Spears from Germany.” Nature, vol. 385, no. 6619, 1997, pp. 807-810., doi:10.1038/385807a0.
Wilkins, J., et al. “Evidence for Early Hafted Hunting Technology.” Science, vol. 338, no. 6109, 2012, pp. 942-946., doi:10.1126/science.1227608.
Image Attributions:
P. Pfarr NLD, Schöningen Speer VII im Sediment 1997 © P. Pfarr NLD, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE
photo by Grant Mitchell, Hoplite fight from Athens Museum, CC BY 2.0
anonymous, Roman soldier 175 aC in northern province, CC BY-SA 3.0
Ovedc, Terracotta Army (34), CC BY-SA 3.0
Jononmac46, Gibraltar Skull (1)a, CC BY-SA 3.0
Didier Descouens, Pointe levallois Beuzeville MHNT PRE.2009.0.203.2.fond, CC BY-SA 3.0
Olga Ernst, Petrified tree trunk and Welwitschia (Namibia), CC BY-SA 4.0
José-Manuel Benito Álvarez (España) - Locutus Borg, Oldowan tradition chopper, CC BY-SA 2.5
Caelio, Adult male chimps in mahale, CC BY-SA 3.0
Video Planet Of The Apes:
Fandango • Planet of the Apes (2/...

[@StefanMilo]

Ok, so squirrels are not bush babies but I couldn't find a stuffed bush baby at 8pm on a Friday so the squirrel had to get it. Consider subscribing if you're interested in history, archaeology and anthropology. Lots more videos on the way. kzbin.info/door/Z9jWH_8tJ-Nmaj8dSQdEYA?

[@saftsuse866]

Congrats on being first, Stefan, but 7 hours ago? Kinda cheating.

[@StefanMilo]

Oh man, I didn't mean to steal anyone's glory. Sorry!

[@christopherzantiotis]

Stefan Milo Do you believe that Makedonians were different from all the other Hellenic states in terms of ethnicity, culture and language?

[@carnagedogg4294]

Hello,do you know anything about Humans ability to throw spears versus Neandertal and the inability of Neandertals shoulders to perform this movement.I can remember a doco saying this was a possible reason for humans to kill Neandertal,as well as intelligence and communication in hunting.Do you know recommended viewing in Early hominids and human expansion.All the best.

[@Shovi_]

I liked the wood joke, really laughed out loud.

[@nicholashurst780]

We're interested in the Stone Age origins of EVERYTHING

[@StefanMilo]

Me too!

[@nicholashurst780]

@@StefanMilo idea for an April Fools video: the Stone Age Origins of Photography

[@kirstenwhitworth8079]

Yes! Yes, we are interested in the stone age origins of EVERYTHING. I recently saw something that suggests that many of our "fairy tales" have stone age origins (though I may have confused my eras). How the origins of stories were traced would be very interesting.

[@kirstenwhitworth8079]

@@StefanMilo, Yes! Yes, we are interested in the stone age origins of EVERYTHING. I recently saw something that suggests that many of our "fairy tales" have stone age origins (though I may have confused my eras while skimming the short article). How the origins of stories were traced would be very interesting.

[@garypowell4565]

Just go online and watch "The Flintstones", and you will learn everything you want to know about our stoneage relatives. YabaDabaDooooooooo

[@brindlebriar]

It was me. I remember inventing it when I was a kid. It was quite simple, in retrospect. In a flash of insight, I just picked up a stick and poked my sister with it. I didn't even realize what a momentous thing I had done. The significance was lost on me, at the time.

[@Mr.56Goldtop]

Our ancient ancestors were under tremendous pressure on the African Savannah, from other hominids, hyenas, wild dogs, lions, leopards, giant birds, and the IRS.

[@onceuponarevenant9409]

Specially the last one, you don't mess the IRS!

[@meisteremm]

So the IRS has been around for hundreds of thousands of years and claims jurisdiction in another continent? Jesus, that is frightening.

[@radagastbrown9001]

Wild dogs 🐕 don't seem to attack humans.

[@Pipsqwak]

There's always been someone out for nothing but their pound of flesh!!

[@Mr.56Goldtop]

@@meisteremm They are.

[@saftsuse866]

Has a spear. _Kicks_ the attacking squirrel.

[@Joshua_23]

use the more effective weapon stefan

[@keedt]

He is the descendant of orthodox Croats, these guys are good at soccer.

[@crmesson22k]

I would be interested in the archery video.

[@gelgamath_9903]

Bush Babies the adorable snack that smiles back until you snap its head off

[@dhindaravrel8712]

It's also adorable how you're surprised your spear can actually pierce a stuffed animal, like they're not a tried and true technology meant to do exactly that.

[@DanielButlergungfu1967]

2 things: 1. It goes to show that necessity is the mother of invention. 2. You are obviously no threat with a spear. lol

[@luciferangelica]

i'm pretty sure frank zappa was the mother of invention

[@reuireuiop0]

@@luciferangelica No Frank was a bit _above_ them. They'd be in his band

[@angelamagnus6615]

To have a chance to defeat saber tooth tiger you need a spear.

[@jwvandegronden]

@@angelamagnus6615 or a gun, or to be massively bigger and then domesticate the saber tooth as a pet project. Or maybe what you said... ;-) Also: the open savannah made pray faster, and throwing a projectile at something is much faster than running towards it. They probably once started throwing rocks at things. Flints existed to scrape, and once upon a Stone Age time, some dude had this eureka moment to combine throwing rocks with the flints and maybe the shaft was initially only to make sure the pointy bit hit its prey first...

[@phinhager6509]

@@angelamagnus6615 Or a pit or hill and a lot of rocks. A 30lb rock dropped from 25 feet should kill anything.

[@555Trout]

Erectus had to have had spears. They were so successful I can't imagine they could have done it without spears.

[@phinhager6509]

Pillbugs have been among the most dominant lifeforms almost everywhere on Earth for the last 500+ million years, and as far as I know, they don't use spears.

[@555Trout]

@@phinhager6509 Funny actually. However, it has no relevance to my comment.

[@phinhager6509]

@@555Trout It has strictly logical relevance, showing that success is not dependent on having spears.

[@555Trout]

@@phinhager6509 Wrong. Insects don't use tools and humans don't exist without tools. For all practical purposes you cannot define a human without including tool use. Erectus was a fabulously successful hunter for over a million years. If you think a rather slender small hominid did that without spears , well, have at it. Don't be surprised if you get laughed at though.

[@phinhager6509]

@@555Trout I'm not saying that your conclusion is flawed, but that your argument of successful, therefore spears is flawed. I might even venture to say that since we know _H. Erectus_ was not human in the same way we are, your second argument is weak, and that third argument, while stronger than the first two, is a little too simplistic too be convincing. Ultimately, however, I agree with your conclusion, based on a fleshed out version of your third argument, and the fact that other primates use spears.

[@archstanton5113]

7:21 don't mess with this guy!

[@TomLeg]

I'm not an expert on anything, but I would have thought the first weapon was the rock. They are everywhere, you can pick one up and throw it.

[@StefanMilo]

That's true. By my definition though (and this is only mine so it's probably meaningless), the spear is perhaps our first weapon, that we deliberately made, that is only a weapon. Things like axes, clubs and rocks could be put to many uses but the spear is a weapon first and foremost.

[@cookeymonster83]

@@StefanMilo You haven't seen me scratch my back with a halberd then.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

You take a rock and hit stuff with it. Eventually it breaks. The broken rock has a sharp edge, that works great to cut stuff like meat. You take a pointy broken rock or a bone to stab stuff. You but the pointy thing on a long stick to stab stuff from a distance. The difference is between using a "tool" and making, building, creating one. Finding a sharp edged stone is one thing, making one from scratch a totally different task.

[@DDeden]

@@StefanMilo Ok, but, digging sticks (for root tubers) and Spears both go back very far. First a straw collects ground ants, then a twig collects underground termites, then a mouth-sharpened twig jabs a bushbaby in a hollow tree, then a Pygmy jabs a hare-sized forest antelope hidden in a hollow log, then a Pygmy jabs a forest elephant's belly, then thrusting becomes throwing which becomes slinging which becomes pulling-releasing bows which becomes trigger pulling guns and finally button pushing bombs and then start all over again ...

[@oldschoolman1444]

We don't give our ancestors enough credit, they did great things with what they had. After all, evolution is a slow process. =)

[@TheBurdenOfHope]

I remember seeing footage of a group of chimps who didn’t “walk on two legs” but whose behaviour was influenced by the savannah and tall grasses they lived amongst - they would stand on two legs extensively in order to see over the grasses and scan for predators or prey. It was “disturbing” in its way as you could see the pathways to hominid evolution as we came out of the trees and traversed the land more frequently. Amazing video Stefan, as ever.

[@mcfrandy]

Yes, I would definitely be interested in a video about when archery was invented! There seems to be a lot of perplexing and contradictory information I've come across, from sources saying that arrowheads have been found in South Africa from over 70,000 years ago and other sources that seem to indicate the earliest evidence of archery in Eurasia is from only about 20,000 years ago at most.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

After hitting stuff with a stone, throwing a stone, building a sling to throw a stone and putting a pointy stone on a stick, bows are probably one of the oldest weapons. Used in prehistory all the way up to crossbows and firearms, in some cases even after that. Jack Churchill even got a confirmed kill with an english longbow in WWII, which means bows were effective enough to be used from the beginning of humanity all the way into modern times. In some regions they are still a widely used weapon today.

[@taistelusammakko5088]

@@HappyBeezerStudios mad jack shooting someone with a bow didnt make it effective weapon

[@shark7n10]

Stone age archery please!....And please cover conflict between hman and neanderthals too!

[@StefanMilo]

I'm researching the Neanderthals right now, just got some new books delivered. It'll take a while to do the research though. Expect it in the spring sometime!

[@aylardc]

Hey man, I’ve been getting 2-3 of your videos in per week for a few months now. You’re always a fun and informative part of the rotation that checks entertainment and learning boxes. I usually feel like I’ve spent my time well watching your videos, enjoy them, and can’t wait for all the great content to come! Also congrats on being a papa! It’s the best.

[@christopherellis2663]

The meat 🥩 would likely have been air dried for later use. The organs would have been eaten fresh.

[@StefanMilo]

Delicious!

[@DDeden]

guts used as bait in waterside snare?

[@vasilileung2204]

@@DDeden that’s assuming early humans have a disdain for eating internal organs as some modern humans in the west do. In a lot of cultures today internal organs are eaten as widely as the meat, and fetch similar if not higher price. Definitely not throwaways. We can’t use modern western culinary habits to assume early humans thought and behaved the same.

[@DDeden]

@@vasilileung2204 Good points, but mine was that some internals are less valued than others and those could have been used as bait for critters like turtles, raccoons, crabs/lobsters, crocs that may have been far more useful. Imagine a bloody spleen tied by a thin line and pulled along the shore by a hidden spearman. A two-for-one buffet.

[@jackshumate7874]

When did the Atlatl come into use ?

[@TheLittledikkins]

A very long time after ''pointy sticks''. To my knowledge, those are Early modern human tools as Neanderthal's spears were for stabbing and too heavy to use a spear thrower with.

[@pauldefillippo8490]

The atlatl is Neolithic tool I don't think it shows up in the record till about 8,000 years ago

[@esben181]

According to Wikipedia it existed 21,000-17,000 years ago, i.e., before the Neolithic.

[@eacalvert]

Would love an archery video! I have a recurve myself. Not a compound but a real bow

[@StefanMilo]

Sweet! Archery video will come at some point, don't worry!

[@eacalvert]

@@StefanMilo OMG omg omg the op actually answered me on KZbin! *Does fan girl squeeze*

[@stevenobrien557]

@@StefanMilo did you ever get around to this one?

[@aadeshchandra]

I like the style of your delivery, quite different from other KZbinrs. Keep them coming.

[@dicynodon1018]

This was the first video I watched and it hooked me since, I always end up returning here haha, I love this channel so much, thanks for the awesome work!

[@gordonyork6638]

Adorable snack. LOL A person once told me she wouldn't eat a lamb be cause 'They we're too cute' I asked if she liked octopus, she got a disgusted look on her face and replied 'Noooo, too ugly' I replied 'oh so you eat only mediocre looking animals'

[@antondavis33]

Just discovered your channel, great video just subscribed

[@charles8589]

The side clips of you playing with the spear were hilarious. Loved your analysis on this subject. Definitly do the arrow video :)

[@amirghorvei1126]

Hey Stefan, just wanted to say that I discovered you from Operation Odysseus and I'm loving your content now and since you participated. I'm a classics student myself, with a huge interest in archaeology. Great mix of information humour, if you're ever in Canada let me smoke you up!!!

[@StefanMilo]

Sounds like a plan!

[@hicoteo]

I don't condone the use of weed but I imagine it useful when required to sweep tons of dirt away from old bones with a paintbrush. 😁

[@a-bloke-named-chris9805]

You deserve more subs, great video. I also love the locations where you film the videos

[@StefanMilo]

Thanks, I always try and make it a little more interesting.

[@EdnaStudios132]

I love videos like this, very interesting. I have an anthropology class about human origins this semester, and I'm looking forward to learn more about how early tools shaped our fancy monkey brains.

[@EdnaStudios132]

@@christopherellis2663 dork

[@StefanMilo]

Thanks, lots more to come. I used to love my anthropology classes at uni.

[@tinobemellow]

Fancy, but not superior. Just an upgraded version, really.

[@lucidd4103]

The laugh when you succeed in stabbing that plushy tells everything about the profound hunter instinct we have :D

[@iammrbeat]

You might just be even more cringeworthy than me, and you know how cringy I am. :)

[@StefanMilo]

Praise indeed!

[@Miamcoline]

Thats incredible! Good job contextualising and everything!

[@StefanMilo]

Thanks very much!

[@Miamcoline]

@@StefanMilo and a-thank you!

[@passingwind2681]

You are getting better,keep it up.

[@Rhiannonganon]

I love the fact you use a little comedy within educational videos, makes it fun to learn and easily sticks in your mind better than if you just explained things 🥰

[@davidriggs538]

I was hoping you'd also mention the atlatl. And, yes, we'd love to see a video on the origins of archery.

[@phyllisneal8687]

Great talk. Yes, absolutely continue!

[@mcanyildiz1996]

"adorable snack"

[@davidfoster9073]

For your archery. The first fletchings on arrows were leaves left on arrow shafts. One led to the other...What came first; the bow & arrow or bows used to start fires?

[@1020LAStep]

Very interesting-thanks for the new knowledge.

[@malkomalkavian]

Oh, I watched this already. I had forgotten. Cheers Stefan :)

[@michaeleager4635]

A pointy stick may have been used defensively to create distance if not to kill, prior to spear use for hunting. We'll never know, millions of years before present. But a club was probably our first weapon

[@IsmaelNxala]

I lived near Kathu my entire child hood, not far from Kathu("Ka-Too") pan, is the oldest known man made housing caves named the Wonder-Werk Caves, also dated to about 2 mil years ago. And they found the oldest fire site there as well. Please do more vids about these people?? I believe they are ancestors to the Koi San, and the Griekwa culture is their modern descendents, I think.

[@lesleeg9481]

Awesome video!

[@rameyzamora1018]

Chimps observed using spears as humans do is something I hadn't heard yet - the more we observe the animal and plant kingdom, the more similarities to ourselves we see. It's jawdropping. Thanks for this good video, you two.

[@useyourbrain5261]

You're such a goof. Love it. Thanks for your work dude.

[@Thrashdragon]

Archaeologists note that, much like an attendant at an erectile dysfunction convention, it’s difficult to get rock hard wood.

[@downeastprimitiveskills7688]

I would suspect mounting a rock, (sharp) to the end of a wooden shaft would be considered rock hard wood.

[@Thrashdragon]

If it fossilized it would be petrifying

[@steveanston4906]

Its not that hard.

[@jerrypeppler1484]

Thrashdragon Wouldn’t it be, “attendee”?

[@adrianrafaelmagana804]

2 years later I am requesting that you do make the stone age origins of the bow and arrow, which I'm almost certain you have already done so. Love the videos Stefan, thanks for sharing.

[@anonymousalias.5059]

Wish this was longer, maybe part 2?

[@StefanMilo]

I'm really torn on whether to make longer videos. Not sure whether to do it. Moving forward I'm trying to give each month a theme so that the videos are related and provide more detail. Also coming soon I'm hoping to have interviews with other youtubers, maybe even some professors and PHD students to provide longer content. First one of those should be coming out the end of this month.

[@planzed463]

Love your videos!! Thank you.. hilarious end scene on this 😂😂

[@lesleeg9481]

Totally want to see your research on Stone Age archery!

[@tectosagos9327]

Excellent, as usual. Ta very much!

[@danielgallagher8830]

hey,IK it might be might hard and there's probably nothing left (IDK I'm not that good at research but if there's anything to go on, could you do an episode on our last common ancestor with chimps.

[@StefanMilo]

That's definitely going to happen. There's actually quite a few contenders and one of things holding us back is actually the ego of archaeologists. Everyone wants to be the guy who discovered the last common ancestor, no one wants to be the guy who discovered the first chimp.

[@foxhound963]

So can I just make the first move and wildly claim it to be a primitive chimp?

[@foxhound963]

Then they will debunk me right?

[@alsaunders7805]

That's what everyone wants to know / discover.

[@CrownTown10]

Would like to see episodes on: archery, fire-making, pottery, cooking, salt making/collecting, flint finding, and paleo climates. Really appreciate your format, tone and research on your subjects. Thank you!

[@nmarbletoe8210]

salt! yes let's hear about salt it's delicious and tradeable

[@lesleeg9481]

Definitely interested in the Stone Age evolution of archery!

[@ullavanderschaaf4911]

You are the best, keep on your good work, and your humour is adorable by the way 👍🏽😉💕

[@LiMaking]

This is my favorite history channel! xD

[@BenLe42]

Great video, and great to see you in SA! That's home. And what a rich prehistory we have! Would love to meet and have a chat in you are ever in Johannesburg

[@jordantoms4367]

Love your videos! subsribed.

[@AJMerrick]

1.46 nailed that pronunciation

[@StefanMilo]

GCSE German finally coming in handy.

[@kimnenninger7226]

Great video.

[@roncorbyn507]

Excellent!

[@tateisgod]

your martial prowess is most impressive!!

[@gregl1547]

I’m interested in the archery episode!

[@RobertKaucher]

Interesting points to consider... I see what you did there.

[@mitchellskene8176]

I'd be interested in the archery video. I always assumed that the bow and arrow technology was only invented around 20,000 years ago, likely somewhere in North Africa or the middle East. But recently I was doing some fact checking for a fan fiction story I was reading, and discovered that there's evidence that the technology is around 70,000 years old. So I'd definitely be interested in that video.

[@socket_error1000]

Part of this reminded me of the old "Star Wars Kid" video, lol. Great video and interesting theory.

[@gordonyork6638]

Erectile Dysfunction Conference, there's no wood. Hilarious! Your viddies rock. Keep em coming.

[@BelRigh]

Id LOVE to see you and BillLudlow do a long series of colabs...

[@mzeewatk846]

for the sake of accurate taxonomy, it's not a "pointy stick". it's a "pokey stick".

[@nobody8328]

Nonono. Pokey things are used to unclog bowls. Personally, I would have selected Sharp Stick, but then I like alliteration 😊

[@teachnaduinn3134]

Well Cool Doc!!!

[@laurencevanhelsuwe3052]

Vid on archery? Yes please!

[@marvinbecker388]

You really are quite good at handling that shaft, Stefan

[@Benjamin1c]

Yes! Archery video would be awesome

[@mikevargas809]

excellent, thank you

[@traciw71]

Love your videos. I had to laugh while you danced with the spear LOL

[@larryvienneau]

Yes please I would like to see archery!!!

[@gzpo]

good work, thanks!

[@StefanMilo]

thanks!

[@alexbowman7582]

Can’t help remembering Blackadder Goes Fourth when Blackadder says to Baldric you know Baldric when I joined the army we were fighting fuzzy wuzzies with sharp sticks.

[@salchaw]

please make another video about the arrow and bow also another about boats and sails .

[@jasonhayward6965]

i can tell you Stefan the whole story it is really interesting. originally our species actually had bark boats and they used them to get around , over time a piece of straight stick was used. the straight stick again over time development a point it was worked out that the point could be used to stab something. you have to imagine that most weapons or tools were called hitters like clubs or clubs with a heavier top or rounded piece of wood that was used. this new way to stab something was then used over time more people carried stabbing weapons/. however the actions were still only stabbing. it was one day when a group of men chased another over the rocks. the man being chased run down the small hill and the men came to the edge and in a last ditch efforts one of the men threw the stick at him. it had never been done before and everyone smiles but the stick missed ,however everyone knew that throwing a stick could happen and then over time the sticks were straightened and practised to throw , and thats how the spear came into being what is is today.

[@lochlannach9256]

Do a video on bow and arrow. It is a bit mysterious how this rather complicated weapon system seems to have been invented independently by many cultures - or could it have originated in one place and been spreaded around the world?

[@deliezer]

Yes, very interested in Stone Age archery

[@ob5443]

I need that video on the Stone Age origin of archery

[@mpetersen6]

Could the spear have possibly originated as a tool for spearing fish. Most likely a reasonably straight sharpened stick.

[@JanetStarChild]

That actually makes a lot of sense, considering that early human ancestors more likely adapted to life around water as oppose to the plains.

[@MrEuller88]

@@JanetStarChild the water monkey hypothesis is mostly hibbie-jibbies, the majority of the traits it says that were adaptations (or trace of adaptations) to live near the water are also explainable by the current theory of evolution in the savannah. Although it is an interesting counterpoint to the most orthodox hypothesis(es?) and discourse is always a good thing, it doesn't have enough oomph to sustain itself. There is a lot of videos talking about its shortcomings, I believe that PBS Eons did one on that if I'm not mistaken.

[@JanetStarChild]

@@MrEuller88 No, the Aquatic Ape hypothesis is actually quite sound. You just have to do legitimate research on it. It's the Savanna Ape hypothesis that makes no sense. There's no way that proto-human creatures could have survived in such a hostile environment. Plus, we already have a primate that evolved on the savanna; the baboon. It is nothing like a human and in fact resembles more like a wild dog.

[@ManMan-ko7ll]

@@JanetStarChild You couldn’t be anymore wrong.

[@JanetStarChild]

@@ManMan-ko7ll Alright then, book your next vacation at an arid savanna, I'll book mine at a tropical beach; we'll see which environment is more inviting.

[@TheDeadlyDan]

One of the two things that we do and nothing else we've found does, is throw over arm - like a spear. All other hominids used a spear like a halbred or a pike - stabbing and thrusting. I"m waiting for them to come up with a full skelton of a Denisovan to see if they could or couldn't throw over arm. I suspect not.

[@longpinkytoes]

@2:07 Unhafted Spears is a contraction in terms though... the haft is the stick, wielding an unhafted haft means empty hands xD

[@jeffbell2668]

" just no wood" probably why all the frustration go stay something.

[@mariojeromechavez6663]

2:10 I liked what he was giving a demonstration on spear attacks, it almost resembles a bit of spear wushu! 😊

[@iamtheroadwanderer]

Awsom!

[@matiasrondan]

You're my favorite archeologist mate, better than Indiana Jones. Thank you and congratulations! I'm a fan

[@lokitus]

The humor alone is priceless...

[@loquat44-40]

Yes, please present what ever you know about the origins of archery.

[@brom1857]

Would be very interested in both an archery video, and one on the origi s of the spear thrower. Is it known whether Neanderthal could throw a spear, like sapiens, or whether he would have to use it up close when hunting, as a stabbing weapon? I have heard many Neanderthal remains show evidence of healed broken bones, which might suggest the latter, if true? If Neanderthals came into conflict with a band of Sapiens (very likely, knowing our species!), then if we had throwing spears, (especially with range-extending throwers), and they just had stabbing spears, there's an inequality of technology, and only one winner. Repeat many times, and you explain the extinction of our rivals.

[@jayao9758]

Yes! Archery please. Love the jokes folded in. Keep it coming.

[@spatrk6634]

just long stick alone is great weapon. without it being pointy long sticks break, and sometimes they break at the angle that you are left with sharp end.

[@kev3289]

Those hunter/warrior skills are on point. 👍

[@colinp2238]

At 2:08 where did you get footage of that primitive weilding a spear?

[@alessandrorossi7135]

A question I can't find an answer on the internet is when and why the shield was invented. Was it for hunting? For early warfare? To protect from arrows or from melee?

[@mwosc2]

Do the archery video!

[@apf3290]

That first squirrel stabbing sequence was gold

[@dominictarrsailing]

Did you do a video on archery? My theory is that the first bow an arrow was a toy. It's really easy to make a toy bow and arrow. (Of course, slightly harder if you have to make your own string. (Come to think of it, my mother did actually show me how to make string from scratch, thanks mum) but actually making a bow good enough to be a vaiable weapon, and being a good enough shot to kill something takes a lot of practice! However, with a childhood spent playing with a toy bow and arrow would make you quite dangerous. Fun fact: impressed with San bushman poison arrows, I once tried to find thier origin myth. Surely there is a story about how some mythical warrior made the first one. Sadly, I couldn't find it. But I did find the Greek one. Hercules made the first poison arrows using medusa's blood after he killed her. BTW, the word toxin comes from the Greek word for arrow!

[@KipIngram]

Ok, that's slightly morbid... Poor little stuffed squirrel. :-) Another great video, Stefan!