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Time Frame
Africa is most likely the site of the first arrowheads ever made. Feathers were probably added to wooden or bamboo shafts to improve accuracy during the period between 25,000 and 18,000 B.C.E. The arrowheads were attached to the wooden or bamboo shafts using plant fibers, animal sinew or thin strips of leather.
Early Beginnings
Arrowheads were initially made from sharpened bones that were carved to a point. Sometimes they were hardened over a fire. Prehistoric hunters achieved extremely sharp edges on stone or volcanic glass arrowheads by chipping flakes off the larger pieces with another stone or flint.
Speculation
Australia is one of the few countries in which bows and arrows, and therefore arrowheads, were not used by prehistoric peoples. However, the Aborigines came up with another most unique weapon used for hunting--the boomerang!
Significance
Prehistoric cave paintings found in Africa, Spain, France, India and elsewhere portray hunters with bows and arrows chasing after game. Needless to say, arrowheads and arrows certainly gave prehistoric man a distinct advantage when it came to hunting.
Evolution
Arrowheads were improved upon by the Chinese, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans and Native Americans over the years, creating, for example, arrowheads that were designed to pierce armor (see Resources).
Fun Fact
Otzi, also known as the "Iceman," whose 5,000-year-old mummified body was discovered in South Tyrol in 1991, still carried an arrowhead lodged in his back (see Resources).