, which date between 6500 B.C. and 1000 B.C., from the Mesolithic to the Bronze Age. It seems some of the clubs from this span served as weapons based on their depictions in rock art and the distinct head wounds on skeletons. In one experiment, researcherswith a club replica, showing that indeed a club could have inflicted the ancient injuries.
But knowing that past people could use clubs doesn’t explain why they did. After all, ancient foragers also wielded long-range weapons such as spears or bows and arrows, which offer obvious advantages. When hunting with clubs, it is difficult to get close enough to game before the creatures run away. And such close encounters are risky. One well-aimed kick or horn thrust could be fatal.
Continually innovating and adapting, these diverse societies are not relics of bygone ways. Modern foragers can, however, inspire insights about the ancient club question. They showcase the varied ways foragers use wooden clubs for hunting or other activities.that describes modern and recent forager societies. Most of the ethnographies I analyzed were penned by anthropologists during the 19th and 20th centuries, though missionaries and early travelers also contributed some.