3 May 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Archaeologists discover 7,000-year-old tiger shark-tooth knives in Indonesia

Excavations on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi have yielded an incredible find: two tiger shark teeth that were fashioned into knives and are thought to be approximately 7,000 years old.

Because it offers some of the earliest evidence of shark teeth being used in composite weapons worldwide, this discovery is significant. Until now, the oldest such shark-tooth blades found were less than 5,000 years old.

Attributed to the enigmatic Toalean culture, these blades hint at rituals and warfare from an era before Neolithic farmers reached Indonesia.

These weapons, as reported in the journal Antiquity, are not just older but more advanced than any previously discovered shark-tooth blades, which were at least 2,000 years their junior.

Using a combination of scientific analysis, experimental reproduction, and insights from modern human societies, the Australian and Indonesian scientists deduced that these teeth had been attached to handles, transforming them into blades. They were most likely used during rituals or battles.

Both of these shark teeth artifacts are attributed to the Toalean culture, a group that inhabited southwestern Sulawesi for several millennia. These enigmatic hunter-gatherers inhabited the island before Neolithic farmers from mainland Asia (“Austronesians”) spread into Indonesia around 3,500 years ago.

Modified 7,000-year-old tiger shark teeth found on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Photo: M.C. Langley.
Modified 7,000-year-old tiger shark teeth found on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Photo: M.C. Langley.

The shark teeth are of a similar size and came from tiger sharks (Galeocerda cuvier) that were approximately two metres long. Both teeth are perforated. Further examination revealed that these teeth were attached to a handle with a combination of mineral, plant, and animal materials, as well as plant-based threads.

This attachment method is similar to that used in contemporary shark-tooth blades found in various Pacific cultures.

Examination of the edges of each tooth found they had been used to pierce, cut and scrape flesh and bone. However, far more damage was present than a shark would naturally accrue during feeding.

While these residues superficially suggest Toalean people were using shark-tooth knives as everyday cutting implements, ethnographic (observations of recent communities), archaeological and experimental data suggest otherwise.

It may seem odd to choose to use shark teeth as weaponry. But since the only technology available to ancient oceanic cultures was Neolithic, people had to make do with what they could. They didn’t start using metal tools until they came into contact with Europeans in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Map Credit: Antiquity.
Map Credit: Antiquity.

The shark knives weren’t all that bad, though. Deep cuts could be made with these blades, according to experimental reproductions. However, their sharpness had a drawback in that they could easily blunt, rendering them less useful for regular tasks. Their ability to cause severe wounds might have limited their usage to special events or conflicts rather than as kitchen knives.

Communities all over the world, from Kiribati to Hawai’i, have incorporated shark teeth into their culture, particularly those located along coastlines known for shark fishing. These teeth have been fashioned into weapons, ritual objects, and even tattooing instruments. The variety of ways they were used demonstrates the reverence and respect these communities had for these oceanic predators.

Antiquity

Cover Photo: Scratches and a ground section on the tip of a shark tooth indicate its use by people 7,000 years ago. Credit: M.C. Langley

Related Articles

The inhabitants of Pınarbaşı Höyük in central Turkey may be the ancestors of the Boncuklu Höyük and Çatalhöyük neolithic human communities

27 July 2022

27 July 2022

The Department of Excavations and Researchs, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Turkey, attracted...

Archaeologists Discover Fragment of Medieval Inscription of Church in Melnik

1 March 2024

1 March 2024

124 artifacts made of stone, ceramics, and metal were discovered during archaeological excavations in the Church of the Holy Mother...

Archaeological settlements dating back 3000 years found in Qurayat, Oman

2 October 2022

2 October 2022

Archaeological research in Oman’s Qurayat Province has revealed numerous archaeological and historical settlements, some dating back more than 3,000 years...

Giant Prehistoric Rock Engravings Discovered in South America May Be The World’s Largest

5 June 2024

5 June 2024

Researchers made a groundbreaking discovery of what is thought to be the world’s largest prehistoric rock art. Enormous engraved rock...

18,000 years ago, late Pleistocene humans may have hatched and raised the “World’s Most Dangerous Bird.”

2 October 2021

2 October 2021

Researchers say the eggshell is an understudied archaeological material that has the potential to clarify past interactions between humans and...

Saudi shipwreck excavation reveals hundreds of 18th-century artifacts on sunken ship in the north Red Sea

25 February 2022

25 February 2022

Divers from Saudi Arabia’s Heritage Authority have discovered a shipwreck in the Red Sea from the 18th century filled with...

Unsolvable Megalithic Mystery of ancient Greek “Dragon Houses”

8 January 2025

8 January 2025

The Dragon Houses of Euboea, which probably dates to the Preclassical period of ancient Greece, are one of the historical...

Britain’s first Roman funerary bed is discovered in central London after 2,000 years

7 February 2024

7 February 2024

Archaeologists excavating a construction site in London have unearthed the first Roman “flat-packed” funerary furniture – a fully intact Roman...

Archaeologists Unearth 78,000-Year Oldest Human Burial

5 May 2021

5 May 2021

A 78,000-year-old group of bones discovered at the mouth of a Kenyan coastal cave constitutes the oldest recorded formal human...

Ancient Ruins of an Ancient Capital Found in Beijing

15 March 2021

15 March 2021

After two years of excavation, Chinese archaeologists recently exposed Zhongdu, the capital city of the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) next to...

Poland’s oldest copper axe discovered in the Lublin region

30 March 2024

30 March 2024

A copper axe from the 4th to 3rd millennium BC identified with the Trypillia culture was found in the Horodło...

2,000-year-old altar found in Alexandria Troas

9 October 2021

9 October 2021

A 2,000-year-old altar was unearthed during the ongoing excavations in the ancient city of Alexandria Troas, in a region close...

Unique Gold Artefacts of Thracian Horseman Found in Bulgaria

23 August 2024

23 August 2024

The Topolovgrad Municipality posted on its Facebook page on Wednesday that during excavations at the site of a Thracian warrior’s...

A burial complex and an Ancient Dog Statue have been unearthed during excavations in Appio Latino quarter the Rome

8 January 2022

8 January 2022

Workers laying pipes for utility company Acea at Via Luigi Tosti in Rome’s Appio Latino quarter have unearthed an ancient...

21 Copperplate Inscriptions discovered at Ghanta Matham in India

14 June 2021

14 June 2021

During excavations at Ghanta Matham in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh,  important 21 copper plates for the Mallikarjuna Swami...