"Opportunities are... everywhere and so you must always let your hook be hanging."
Augustine "Og" Mandino, writer
The major problem with dating inventions earlier than the written word is that there are no first-hand accounts documenting their conception or use. Paleoarcheologists have the difficult task of piecing together the prehistory of man based on scraps of physical evidence left behind by our ancient ancestors. The fishhook is one such ingenious conception of early man and is probably more important to the success of humans than most of us would suspect. The earliest examples of fishhooks so far found by archeologists date from around 35,000 B.C.E. Appearing well before the advent of metalworking, early fishhooks were fashioned from durable materials of organic origin such as bone, shells, animal horn, and wood. With the addition of a variety of baits on the hook, prehistoric man gained access, previously largely denied, to an easy source of energy loaded with protein and fat. Adding fish to his diet also ensured a healthy intake of essential fatty acids.
Over thousands of years the technology of fishhooks has evolved to optimize prey attraction, retention, and retrieval. The very earliest fishhooks of all are thought to have been made from wood, although, being more perishable than those of bone or shell, very few examples of these primitive hooks have survived. Wood might seem much too buoyant a material to be ideal for catching fish, but actually wooden hooks were used until the 1960s for catching species such as burbot.
Gaining easy access to adequate food supplies is thought to have been an essential factor in the success of early man. To fish in fecund waters requires very little energy and time, and this enabled our ancestors to pursue other activities, meaning that they were able, not just to survive, but to prosper.
