Researchers from South Africa and Sweden have found that the poison comes from the South African plant gifbol (also called poison onion in Swedish), and residues were found on quartz arrows used by our ancestors.
"It is the result of a long and close collaboration between researchers in South Africa and Sweden. Being able to identify the world's oldest arrow poison together has been a huge amount of work and is extremely encouraging for continued research," says Sven Isaksson, professor at Stockholm University, in a press release.
The previous oldest find of poison arrows dates back 35,000 years.
"Using poison darts requires planning, patience and an understanding of cause and effect. It is a clear sign of advanced thinking in early humans," says Anders Högberg, professor at Linnaeus University.
The study is published in Science Advances.
