Neanderthal spears

Schöningen spears (Prof. Dr. Thomas Terberger)

The Schöningen spears, recovered from an ancient bog in Germany, date to over 300,000 years ago- their makers were Neanderthal. Although Neanderthals have been depicted as using stabbing spears, the spears have a thick forward end and a long, skinny tail- a shape making them stable in flight. These were javelins. Javelins are deadly missile weapons with a long range. The Neanderthal javelins were capable of being thrown over 100 feet, but some modern human tribes are able to throw spears as far as 150 feet, and modern athletes can throw a javelin over 200 feet. In practice, the effective range is probably far less, around 15-20 meters, but still it gives one the ability to hit prey- or an opponent- well before they can hit you. Our ancestors, invading Neanderthal lands, would have fought Neanderthals who wielded javelins, and were quite likely armed with javelins themselves. However the javelin remained an important weapon into historic times- Roman legions used a throwing spear called the pilum to soften up enemy formations before charging in with sword and shield. It was a simple but deadly weapon that helped determine the outcome of battles, and therefore shape history, for hundreds of thousands of years.

(photo courtesy Prof. Dr. Thomas Terberger)