News in Brief Archaeology

Stone Age fishing spear found on Southeast Asian island

Carved bone points to ancient, complex hunting weapons near Indonesia

HUNTING NOTCHES  An ancient piece of carved bone (both sides shown) was probably the base of a spear point that inhabitants of Timor attached to a wooden or bamboo shaft. The artifact is slightly less than one inch long and about one-half inch wide.

S. O’Connor

By Bruce Bower

- More than 2 years ago

A 35,000-year-old piece of carved bone found on Timor, an island between Java and Papua New Guinea, indicates that complex hunting weapons were manufactured much earlier than previously thought in Australasia.