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Image Credit: Museu Arqueologico de Sambaquis de Joinville
Ancient Harpoons Show Whaling in Brazil Began 5000 Years Ago
Archaeological research in southern Brazil has revealed some of the oldest known harpoons in the world, providing strong evidence that Indigenous communities were actively hunting whales around 5,000 years ago. The findings challenge long-held assumptions that early whaling developed only in temperate and polar regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
The study, published in Nature Communications, examined 118 cetacean remains and worked artifacts from coastal shell-mound (sambaqui) sites. Among them were harpoon components crafted from the rib bones of humpback and southern right whales, including heads and foreshafts designed to be mounted on wooden shafts. Radiocarbon dating indicates the harpoons were made between about 4,700 and 5,000 years ago, making them older than comparable examples from the Arctic and sub-Arctic.
Distinguishing tools made from stranded whales from those used in active hunting is notoriously difficult. In this case, the co-occurrence of specialized harpoons with numerous bones from the same whale species points to intentional hunting rather than opportunistic scavenging. The discovery also revises views of sambaqui societies, which were long thought to focus mainly on shellfish gathering and fishing.
Beyond extending the geography of early whaling into tropical South America, the evidence highlights a complex maritime adaptation, in which large whales provided food, oil, and raw materials for tools and ornaments. While it remains uncertain whether every harpoon was used exclusively for whales, the assemblage clearly demonstrates that large-scale marine hunting formed part of coastal lifeways far earlier and farther south than previously recognized.
Published on: 23-01-2026
Edited by: Abdulmnam Samakie
Source: Live Science