Rönneholm arrow with microlith barbs

This artefact was recovered in a peat bog in Sweden. It consisted of pieces of wood and microliths, some attached by resin to the pieces of wood.

The arrow shaft was made of a 1-year-old branch of hazel. A V-shaped groove had been cut into the wood, and four microliths had been fixed into the groove with resin to form barbs.

Carbon dating on the wood and resin suggest the arrow is 8,500 to 9,000 years old. Archaeologists believe the arrow is from the Maglemose culture, a Mesolithic hunter-gatherer culture.

The rare completeness of the artefact provides evidence of how people of the time constructed weapons and hunting tools. Learn more about this artefact in this article.