Humans Had a Surprising Technique to Kill Giant Cows 60,000 Years Ago

Ancient humans used a "surprising" method to hunt and kill giant, now-extinct cattle that could weigh up to about 2,000 pounds, research at a "unique" archaeological site in modern-day Israel has revealed.

The findings come from investigations conducted at the Nahal Mahanayeem Outlet (NMO)—a Paleolithic hunting locality on the east bank of the Upper Jordan River in the north of the country that has been dated to around 60,000 years ago.

The ancient hunters who once frequented this site left behind stone tools and animal bones that have enabled researchers to make educated guesses regarding their hunting techniques. The investigations have been described in two studies published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports and Scientific Reports, respectively.

At the time that the site was occupied, the Jordan River didn't yet exist—in its place was a body of water known as the Paleo-Hula Lake.

"Nahal Mahanayeem Outlet is unique because it is an open-air site whose findings were covered immediately by the sediments, capturing a 'moment in the life' of the site occupants—early hunters who butchered and processed the animals they hunted nearby," professor Gonen Sharon of Tel-Hai College, Israel—director of the research project at the site and an author on both of the papers—told Newsweek.

"In comparison, the vast majority of Levantine archaeological sites from this time period are cave sites with multiple occupation layers that make it more difficult to interpret findings."

Excavations at the site have exposed animal bones of varying types and sizes, as well as flint tools used to butcher and process the meat.

"The NMO inhabitants hunted and processed a great variety of animals—deer, gazelle, wild boar, and both tortoises and turtles. But their primary prey were giant, wild cattle," Sharon said.

The giant cattle in question are aurochs (Bos primigenius)—considered to be the wild ancestor of modern cattle.

Aurochs in the area could have weighed up to around one metric ton, or more than 2,200 pounds—a figure determined after researchers excavated a set of complete, processed bones at the site.

In comparison, the "local" cattle that are found in the area today weigh approximately 300 kilograms (around 660 pounds), Sharon said.

"The term 'local' cow is actually the translation of the Arabic term baladi—meaning local," the researcher said. "These cows have maintained the characteristics of the cattle of the Levant before European and Asian cattle entered the [region] in the early 20th century. This is not a milking cow but more of a working animal."

Determining with a degree of certainty the hunting techniques used 60,000 years ago when the only evidence available is multiple bones and flint "points"—or weapon tips— requires advanced laboratory equipment and methods.

Hunting Methods

In the Journal of Archaeological Science paper, researchers Alla Yaroshevich and Maya Oron of the Israel Antiquities Authority, in collaboration with Tel-Hai experts, examined the different impact marks left on these pointed stone artifacts with high-magnitude microscopy to determine whether they were, indeed, used as weapon tips.

"Points are typical tools of the Middle Paleolithic," Sharon said. "We think they were used for a variety of tasks, not only as weapons. When used as a weapon tip, the point usually sustains particular damage on its tip called a 'diagnostic impact fracture.' These markings differ from those left by cutting or other functional uses."

The results of the analysis of the flint points was "rather surprising," Sharon said, with the researchers finding that there was little evidence they were used as spearheads.

"Of the few points with diagnostic impact fractures, the fractures indicate use of low velocity weapons, for either thrusting or throwing a short distance, and not use as spears thrown from a distance," Sharon said.

Instead, this evidence led the researchers to conclude that the NMO hunters used a short-range hunting method—most likely ambushing.

"Ambushing requires that the NMO hunters had sufficient knowledge of the behavior of the giant cattle, of the environment—in order to choose an optimal ambush site—and of the art of camouflage," he said. "They also had to have the patience to wait for the giant cattle to get in range and the courage to charge a one-ton animal from a short distance."

"If you know what you are doing, hunting these large cattle should not be too hard but it would still be dangerous and challenging. The point here is that these hunters of 60,000 years ago knew what they were doing."

Since it appeared that the majority of the points were not used as weapons, researchers turned to a different laboratory technique to see if they could determine how they were really used.

In the second study, led by Ph.D. candidate Juan Ignacio Martin-Viveros of the Catalan Institute of Human Palaeoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES), Spain, scientists examined use-wear marks left on the tools.

"When stone tools are used for meat processing, the edges of the tools wear out differently than when used for hard bone or for the softer vegetal material processing," Sharon said.

Most of the marks examined were typical of meat processing. But it appears a handful of the tools were used for processing dry hide, bone or antler, and plant material.

"The dry hide processing tools enable us to conjecture that the hunters processed, at least initially, the skins of hunted animals before leaving the site," Sharon said. "Moreover, the NMO inhabitants likely used the plants for making wrappers and containers for meat transport."

The researchers also found evidence of "hafting" in the tools—i.e. attaching stone to a wooden handle.

"We were very excited to discover clear evidence for the use of hafted tools," Sharon said. "Examination revealed that the marks on the tool edges clearly change from meat processing marks on the upper section to hafting marks on the lower section."

"The lower section was clearly worn by a wooden handle into which the point or knife was inserted. This hafting expertise by the NMO inhabitants, again, as early as the Late Middle Paleolithic, is considerable; it demonstrates the knowledge, dexterity, and innovative technology applied by the site's inhabitants."

The researchers also made another intriguing finding. Examinations of a few aesthetically beautiful flint points revealed no use-wear marks, indicating that they had likely never been used.

"This means that the giant cattle hunters brought perfectly shaped tools to the site and left them behind," Sharon said. "It is hard to find a functional explanation for such behavior—logic dictates that the hunters would take the points with them for later use. The answer may lie in the direction of symbolism or ceremonial behavior. These behaviors are rarely detected and even more rarely acknowledged in early prehistoric sites."

Overall, the latest findings provide a detailed picture of subsistence strategies used by ancient humans thousands of years ago.

"The NMO inhabitants came to a site on the Paleo-Lake Hula where they captured, butchered, and processed large prey," Sharon said. "Some of their tools they brought with them, others they produced on site."

"They possessed significant abilities, including hunting by ambush, butchering, meat processing, and packing in plant material. They lived just before a larger cultural change defined by new technology. The findings demonstrate sophistication at a resolution rarely available to us."