††The harpoon is a spear, with a rope attached, used for hunting large fish, seals and whales.
The earliest harpoons date from around 16,000 BC. They were made of bone and were discovered in Zaire. By 7000 BC, harpoons were used by fishermen in Northern Europe. Wooden harpoons were found along with items such as wooden fish-hooks. Modern harpoons are fired from a kind of gun. They were invented by Sven Foyn in Norway in 1864. The harpoon gun permitted large scale whale hunting to begin.
