BARCELONA, SPAIN—According to a statement released by the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), archaeologists have recovered 7,000-year-old archery accoutrement, including arrow shafts with attached feathers and the oldest known bowstrings in Europe, in Spain's Cueva de los Murciélagos, or Cave of the Bats. The wooden-tipped arrows were front-weighted and made of a combination of olive, reed, and willow wood, explained UAB researcher Ingrid Bertin, which would have increased their ballistic efficacy. They were coated in birch bark pitch as a protective layer. Craftspeople twisted together tendons from roe deer and species of goat and wild boar to fashion the bowstrings. "With this technique, strong and flexible ropes could be made, to meet the needs of experienced archers," said UAB researcher Raquel Piqué. "This degree of precision and technical mastery, where every detail counts, attests to the exceptional knowledge of these Neolithic artisans." Read the original scholarly article about this research in Scientific Reports. To read about nearly 10,000-year-old baskets found in the cave, go to "Artifact."
