Abstract/Summary

Weaponry co-evolved with the genus Homo, providing a means with which to actively hunt. This review of the evidence of the use of weapons in the Pleistocene traces the development from one-piece wooden spears and throwing sticks through to innovative technologies such as harpoons and the bow. While hunting tools provide pathways for understanding subsistence strategies, they also are significant for mapping shifts in cognitive evolution, technological adaptions, social structures and cultural learning.