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Poison arrows?

Poison arrows may have been used by Stone Age hunters. During this period the mistletoe plant was found in Denmark. All parts of this plant are poisonous and the hunter only had to crush it to extract the poison. The hunters targeted the aurochs’ thigh muscles. This same area is preferred by veterinary experts today, when large animals are anesthetized with tranquiliser darts. It is not possible to provide any definite evidence that the Mesolithic hunters used poison, but it was an available option.

Poison arrows?
Mistletoe grows in large parts of Europe, North Africa and Asia, however, wild mistletoe is very rare in Denmark. Today the plant is mostly used as a decoration at Christmas. Photo: stjernebo.dk.