Excavations on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi have uncovered two unique and deadly artifacts dating back nearly 7,000 years: tiger shark teeth used as knives. These findings were reported in the journal ancient agesis one of the earliest archaeological evidence anywhere in the world for the use of shark teeth in composite weapons (weapons made from more than one piece). The oldest shark tooth blade ever found was less than 5,000 years old.

Using a combination of scientific analysis, experimental breeding, and observations of current human populations, our international team determined that two modified shark teeth were once attached to the handles as blades. They were most likely used in rituals or warfare.

Teeth are 7000 years old

Two shark teeth were discovered during excavations carried out as part of a joint Indonesian-Australian archaeological research programme. Both specimens were found during archaeological excavations associated with the Toale culture, a mysterious forager society that lived in southwestern Sulawesi from about 8,000 years ago until an unknown period in the recent past.

Shark teeth are similar in size and come from the tiger shark (Galeocerda cuvier), which is about two meters long. Both teeth are perforated. A complete tooth found in Leang Panninghe Cave had two holes drilled into its root. Another, found in a cave called Leang Bulu’ Sipong 1, has a single hole, but it is broken and probably originally had two holes.

Microscopic examination of the teeth revealed that they were once firmly attached to the stem with plant threads and a glue-like substance. The adhesive used was a combination of mineral, plant and animal materials. The same attachment method can be seen in modern shark tooth blades used by cultures in the Pacific.

Examination of the edges of each tooth revealed that they were used to pierce, cut and scrape flesh and bone. But there was far more damage than a shark could take while feeding. While these remains superficially suggest that the Toale people used shark-tooth knives as everyday cutting tools, ethnographic (observations of recent communities), archaeological and experimental evidence suggest otherwise.

Why use shark teeth?

Not surprisingly, our experiments found that blades with tiger shark teeth were just as effective at creating long, deep skin wounds when used for thrusting purposes (as in combat) as when cutting the leg of a fresh pig.

In fact, the only disadvantage is that the teeth atrophy relatively quickly; In practice, it is too fast to be used as an everyday knife. This fact, together with the fact that shark teeth can inflict deep wounds, probably explains why shark teeth are today and in the recent past only used as weapons in conflict and ritual acts.

Latest shark tooth knives

Numerous societies around the world have integrated shark teeth into their material culture. In particular, peoples living along the coast (and actively hunting sharks) are likely to use larger numbers of teeth across a wider range of tools.

Observations of modern societies indicate that when shark teeth were not used to adorn the human body, they were almost universally used to create blades for combat or ritual, including ritual fighting.

For example, the fighting knife found in North Queensland has a long blade consisting of about 15 shark teeth arranged in a row on an oval-shaped hardwood handle and is used to strike the opponent’s sides or hips.

Weapons, including spears, knives, and clubs armed with shark teeth, are known from New Guinea and mainland Micronesia; Spears form part of the mourning costume in Tahiti. Further east, Kiribati peoples are famous for their shark daggers, swords, spears and spears; These have been recorded to be used in highly ritualistic and often deadly conflicts.

Shark teeth found at Mayan and Mexican archaeological sites are thought to have been used for ritual bloodletting, and shark teeth are known to have been used as tattoo knives in Tonga, Aotearoa New Zealand and Kiribati.

In Hawaii, tools called “shark tooth cutters” were used as concealed weapons and to “cut dead chiefs and clean their bones in preparation for regular burials.”

Other archaeological finds of shark teeth

Nearly all shark tooth artifacts found around the world have been identified as jewelry or interpreted as such. In fact, modified shark teeth have been recovered from even older contexts. A single, single-pierced tiger shark tooth found at Buang Merabak (New Ireland, Papua New Guinea) was dated to approximately 39,500-28,000 years ago. Eleven single-hole teeth from Kilu (Buka Island, Papua New Guinea) date to approximately 9000-5000 years ago. And an unspecified number of teeth at Garivaldino (Brazil) date to approximately 9,400-7,200 years ago.

But in each of these cases, the teeth were most likely personal ornaments rather than weapons.

The Indonesian shark tooth artifacts we recently identified, through a combination of modifications and microscopic markings, suggest that they were not only tied to blades, but were also possibly associated with ritual or conflict. Whether they cut into human or animal flesh, these shark teeth from Sulawesi may be the first evidence that a specialized class of weapons has existed in the Asia-Pacific region for much longer than we thought. Source