54,000years ago, people were already hunting with bows in France
These arrowheads found in Mandrin Cave are attributed to Homo sapiens .
The first Sapiens to have set foot in France mastered the bow.
As proof: about 900 carved flints which, examined by Laure Metz, from the Lampea laboratory (Aix-en-Provence) and tested by archers, turn out to be formidable arrowheads. They were found in the cave of Mandrin (Drôme), in a stratum dated 54,000 years. The date is surprising for more than one reason: firstly because the first remains of archery in Europe date back to -11,000 years. Secondly, because it was thought that only Neanderthals lived in this territory at the time – but a priori he did not shoot an archery.
“We have to rethink the history of the settlement of Europe and the techniques ,” says the director of these excavations, Ludovic Slimak, of the CAGT laboratory (Toulouse). A year ago, his team revealed that they had identified milk teeth attributed to Sapiens on this site . For the expert, no doubt: modern humans arrived in Europe at least 54,000 years ago, thousands of years earlier than previously thought. With women, children, and bow slung over the shoulder.
Source : websites