Alexander Langlands only recently began to whittle sticks. The archaeologist had a subconscious need for the activity. In his 2017 book Craeft: An Inquiry Into the Origins and True Meaning of Traditional Crafts, he states, "It's addictive." Evidently, it runs in my blood.
Langlands couldn't recall a period when his father wasn't carving beautiful designs into walking sticks when he was a child. But Langlands had no idea that he would be enjoying the activity in his father's place.
In regards to moulding logs or branches into tools or weapons, Langlands has a fascinating notion. "Sticks are probably where the story of craft begins—the point at which our very distant ancestors progressed from animalistic existences to lives materially enhanced by the objects around them," he adds.
Langlands began to question if stick-making hadn't been passed down from our earliest ancestors after developing a newfound love for the craft of whittling, which his father had taught him. In fact, he questioned whether creating sticks wasn't just as "sophisticated" for early man as making stone tools—that is, well planned out and requiring a lot of expertise.
It’s “almost inconceivable that Australopithecus, Homo habilis, erectus, neanderthalensis, and sapiens did not develop this technology to the same degree of sophistication as they had stone-tool technology,” Langlands writes. “But because of wood’s inability to survive in the archaeological record, it will forever be a story that remains untold and one merely hypothesized by the daydreaming of experimental archaeologists such as myself.”
However, the tale is now being told. It is true that wood decays (thanks to fungi). However, there are exceptions, and scientists are starting to closely examine them. The 300,000-year-old Schöningen spears, discovered in Germany in the 1990s, predate modern humans. After being buried for so long and avoiding any exposure to oxygen, the weapons, which include a few exquisitely carved tiny double-pointed "throwing sticks," show "outstanding preservation," according to Nature.
A recent investigation undertaken by University of Reading archaeologist Annemieke Milks centers on one of the Schöningen throwing sticks. She and her colleagues examined the stick, which was carved from a branch of a spruce tree, both figuratively and literally. Milks and associates also employed a microcomputed tomography, or microCT, scanner to produce a 3-D model of the stick. The wood was then chemically evaluated, its tree rings were inspected, and numerous microcuts and areas where the wood had higher compression were observed. This assisted the researchers in determining the throwing stick's "cultural biography"—its origins, methods of production, maintenance, and disposal.
GET TO THE POINT: One of the 300,000-year old double-pointed “throwing sticks” uncovered at the Schöningen excavation site, in Germany. Photo courtesy of Milks, A., et al. A double-pointed wooden throwing stick from Schöningen, Germany: Results and new insights from a multianalytical study. PLOS One (2023).
The branch's difficult-to-work-around knots were carefully attended to by the original stick carver, who shaped "all but two of them down to be flush with the surface," Milks and her coworkers write. "The aim of this was likely to improve handling for ergonomic purposes, and to improve aerodynamics by reducing drag. An absence of significant surface or internal drying cracks suggests the wood dried slowly and evenly. Cut wood loses its natural moisture until it is in equilibrium with the surrounding environment, and if freshly cut and debarked wood is allowed to dry too quickly it can develop significant cracks and can also warp."
The Schöningen spears demonstrate how well developed stick-making technique was. The throwing sticks may be simpler to use than larger wooden spears because they are lightweight, suitable for pursuing rabbit-sized game. The Schöningen hominins "had the capacity for remarkable planning depth, knowledge of raw materials, and considerable woodworking skill, resulting in an expertly designed tool," wrote Milks and colleagues.
The throwing sticks are currently on display at the Forschungsmuseum in Bonn, which is close to the Schöningen excavation site. The weapons considerably contribute to our understanding of Homo heidelbergensis, the early human species that existed between 700,000 and 200,000 years ago, according to museum scholars, who share the researchers' conclusions. The museum tells us that among his skills were "planning, communication, technological skills, sophisticated hunting strategies, and a complex social structure were among his abilities."
Langlands may need to reevaluate his stick-making technology hypothesis. The Schöningen sticks provide evidence that our ancestors were skilled woodworkers as well as stone carvers.
