A bone spearhead discovered in the Kuban village of Mezmay has been recognized as the oldest in Europe. 

According to ARTICLES In the Journal of Archaeological Science, new research on a Neanderthal bone spearhead found in 2003 in the Mezmay Cave in the Caucasus has determined that the artifact found in Mezmay is the oldest bone hunting spearhead in Europe, created approximately 70–80 years ago.

This prompted a reexamination of theories about the development of hunting weapons during this period. "The results indicate that Neanderthals independently invented bone-tipped hunting weapons in Europe long before the arrival of modern humans on the continent during the Upper Paleolithic," the publication states.

Mezmayskaya Cave is a world-famous archaeological site located in the Apsheronsky District of Krasnodar Krai. A unique burial of a newborn Neanderthal was discovered here. Due to its exceptional state of preservation, this is the only specimen from Russia that was able to participate in the international project to sequence the Neanderthal genome.