The oldest fishing net lead ever discovered

29,000-year-old fishing nets discovered in Korea show that humans knew how to use fishing nets very early.

Lead fishing nets unearthed inside Maedun cave. (Photo: AFP).

South Korean archaeologists announced the discovery of 14 limestone fishing nets dating back to about 29,000 years ago in the Maedun cave in the east of Jeongseon district, in Gangwon province, AFP reported today. The discovery shows that ancient humans knew how to use fishing nets from the old Paleolithic period.

Previously, the history of net fishing was thought to date back to the Neolithic period, when the oldest fishing net lead was discovered in Fukui Prefecture, Japan and Cheongju City, Korea dating back to only about 10,000 years old. The new discovery has pushed the history of human net fishing back 19,000 years earlier.

The limestone nets unearthed at Jeongseon range in diameter from 3.7 to 5.6cm and weigh between 14 and 52 grams. Each stone has a groove, said to be tied to the edge of the net, so that the fishing net can be submerged in the water. In addition, the team also found fossilized bones of several fish species, stone tools and fish drying racks inside the cave.