Archaeologists have been left stunned after uncovering what are believed to be the oldest arrowheads ever found.
Researchers stumbled across the ancient pieces while carrying out a dig in northeast Uzbekistan in the Obi-Rakhmat rock shelter.
The small triangular tools have been dated to around 80,000 years ago - and are thought to be arrowheads, a study published in the PLOS One journal has said.
If the artefacts are confirmed to be arrowheads, it could push back the history of humans using bows and arrows by almost 6,000 years.
The small triangle-shaped tools have been dated roughly 80,000 years old and are likely tips for arrows
|PLOS ONE
The oldest set of tips to be discovered until now were found in Ethiopia by a crew of paleoanthropologists in 2002, with researchers determining those to be 74,000 years old.
The arrowheads were initially dismissed, as typical discoveries often find the tips fractured.
But, fresh analysis revealed that the points were too thin to used other forms of weaponry like spears or knives.
Researchers believe the tips were compatible for slimmer shafts, and the breakage points are consistent with high-velocity impacts - the type of damage most commonly dealt by arrowheads.
Researchers stumbled across the ancient pieces while carrying out a dig in northeast Uzbekistan
|GETTY
Questions have arisen surrounding who could have crafted the tools.
The only species of human that inhabited Central Asia 80,000 years ago were the Neanderthals, but no arrowheads made by this group have ever been found.
The pointed tools are believed to have been created first by homo sapiens - us - leaving some scientists questioning whether early modern humans had been roaming modern-day Uzbekistan far earlier than previously understood.
However, researchers have refused to rule out the possibility that these objects could be the first Neanderthal arrowheads to be discovered.
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The only species of human that inhabited Central Asia 80,000 years ago were the Neanderthals
|GETTY
The team which made the discovery said it expects its findings to be met with doubts by many within the scientific community.
The study's co-author, Andrey Krivoshapkin, told ScienceLive: "The bows themselves and the arrow shafts have not been preserved, so some scepticism from colleagues is expected."
University of Connecticut paleolithic archaeologist Professor Christian Tryon said the discovery indicates "complicated early weapons and hunting technologies were more geographically widespread at an earlier date than previously supposed".
Prof Tryon added: "As usual, we consistently underestimate the abilities of our ancestors."
The spread of bow and arrow technology has been attributed by scientists to the migration of modern humans out of the African continent.
Discoveries of ancient arrowheads have been traced in all corners of the globe, including finds from Sri Lanka dating back 48,000 years - and a 54,000-year-old tip in southern France.
Early modern humans primarily used arrows for hunting, but later moved to turn them into weapons of war to use against rival groups.
Arrows were deemed to be revolutionary for the effectiveness and safety of hunting, as humans could kill prey from a distance, as opposed to close combat with wild animals.