World's Oldest Fish Hooks

[Chris Plumb]

http://bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-37402183

 

C.

[Martin56]

Very Interesting Chris, I wonder though if the hooks were actually Baited - or simply used on a short plaited line to foul hook visible fish & flip them maybe into a boat??

 

Nice to see they were "Barbless" even in those days Lol.

Edited September 18, 2016 by Martin56

[Phone]

All,

 

Just what I thought barbless circle hooks size 2

 

Phone

[chesters1]

How did they stick on the line ? Perhaps not hooks more like devices to hold skins together like we would use buttons?

As shell is easy to whittle why not a hole or lump at the fat end like other ancient hooks ?

Once the youtube vid comes out of them being used it will become clearer

Edited September 19, 2016 by chesters1

[Steve Walker]

I wonder if they are complete, or whether there is a bit broken off. Might be rejects.

 

These traditional Maori hooks seem to rely on whipping.

 

http://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/object/166746

[chesters1]

Perhaps a japanese plot to 'have ' the oldest hooks ? Some from east timor could be dated from between 16000 to 23000 years old.

These japanese ones though must be broken as the are 1cm i would presume to whip to them would need a great deal of the shank being covered so the gap disapears or more probably the shank was longer with a groove which would weaken it if not done correctly or if there was a weak bit in the shell and was rejected.

 

Ray mears made one in a program but was far bigger and used a fish bone he just 'happened' to find on his person ,i am sure our predecessors could visualise a hole or groove was needed to make it easier to bind it to a bit of fine line (hair?) then onto courser line! we think of them as crude cavemen but i think having just survived (and up to us) they were not as stupid as some think once they had a reason to use their brains

I think mental evolution depends on needing a reason to evolve ,if you just walk about eating bits off bushes theres no need to evolve as we see from aborigines they didnt invent much beyond what they needed to survive once you had a digging stick a throwing stick and a clubbing stick theres not much else you need until you spot the lack of tv in your bedroom

If you lived on the coast your throwing stick could be adapted to spear fish and barbs were born but there would need to be a reason i doubt our primitive man whittled hooks 'just incase' they went on a holiday at the coast one day wheres we lot invent stuff we would never use in normal life then try and build a better mousetrap just because we can but saying that a boomerang is thinking well out of the box and i am not sure how you could make or find something that does the same by accident?

Edited September 19, 2016 by chesters1

[Steve Walker]

Might have been tied on in the middle and used like a gorge, mind.

[gozzer]

Might have been tied on in the middle and used like a gorge, mind.

I think you might be right Steve, I can't see them being very effective unless they were used as a gorge hook.

 

(It's that long since I've been, I think I've got some of that pattern in my hook wallet. If I can find them I'll let you know).

 

John.

[chesters1]

Might have been tied on in the middle and used like a gorge, mind.

Could be but i would expect a groove to stop whatever tied them slipping off the narrowing bit

Feasilble though to tie two back to back i suppose ? Or thick side to thick side? Forming a double hook

Edited September 19, 2016 by chesters1

[ayjay]

I can't see them being very effective unless they were used as a gorge hook.

 

As they are, they don't look capable of actually hooking anything, but maybe they were sharper 23,000 years ago, (I'm sure I was).

 

I'd like to think that two of them were attached to each other so that they could pivot and then when any tension is put on the line they would act something like a "Lewis lifting pin".

 

It would be an elegant solution, but somehow I doubt that's how it was.

 

 

Split pin Lewis:- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Split_Pin_Lewis.JPG