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It may be more than 13,300 years old, but a spear made using the horn of a woolly rhino horn has been unearthed - and it is still sharp enough to kill today.

The spear was discovered on the island of Bolshoy Lyakhovsky, off the north coast of Siberia and is the first tool from this era found so far north.

It was was used by Palaeolithic man in the Arctic, and has been shown to Russian president Vladimir Putin on a recent visit to Yakutsk. 

Straight to the point: A spear made from woolly rhino horn, which was used by Palaeolithic man in the Arctic, is still sharp enough to be used today. It is almost 35inches (90cm) in length

The horn was uncovered by paleontologists searching for mammoth remains on the Arctic island.

Semyon Grigoryev, Director of the Lazarev Mammoth Museum at Northeastern Federal University in Yakutsk, said: 'This find helps our understanding of how far north people penetrated in the Palaeolithic Era.

'At the same time, there are no analogues in the world for this discovery,' he told The Siberian Times.

The discovery was 240 miles (386 km) north of earlier finds of tools and implements of ancient man, at a site on the Yana River, also in the Sakha Republic.

Woolly rhino horn is known to has been used in making spears, but the latest evidence shows it formed the weapon's tip, - almost 35inches (90cm) in length. Illustration of a woolly rhinoceros, pictured

It has been shown to Russian president Vladimir Putin on a recent visit to Yakutsk after it was uncovered by palaeontologists searching of mammoth remains on the Arctic island of Bolshoy Lyakhovsky. Lead researcher Semyon Grigoriyev is pictured left and President Putin, right

Experts believe that the spear could have been used to kill woolly mammoths and rhinos, both of which became extinct thousands of years ago in Siberia.

Woolly rhino horn is known to has been used in making spears, but the latest evidence shows it formed the weapon's tip, - almost 35 inches (90cm) in length.

'It is first time we see that the tip - and such a long tip - was made of rhino horn,' said Mr Grigoryev.

'The woolly rhino's horn is rather hard, but flexible at the same time.

'It consists of keratin - a substance that makes up our hair and nails. Deer horn or cow horn, by contrast, consist of bone substance.'

The weapon was dated as being 13,300 years old after analysis by Groningen University in the Netherlands. 

The spear was discovered on the island of Bolshoy Lyakhovsky (shown on the map), off the north coast of Siberia and is the first tool from this era found so far north

Mr Grigoryev expects other rhino spears may be found, and further evidence of early man uncovered on the island of Bolshoy Lyakhovsky (pictured), which is part of the New Siberian, or Novosibirsk, archipelago

Mr Grigoryev expects other rhino spears may be found and further evidence of early man uncovered on the island, which is part of the New Siberian, or Novosibirsk, archipelago.

The spear suggests that early Siberians were accomplished hunters.

'Woolly rhinos were rather dangerous animals, and hunting them could be regarded as a huge trophy,' he said.

'The spear is also in one-piece, so it could be made only from the horn of a big, mature rhino.'

While woolly rhino died out some 12,000 years ago in Siberia, mammoth roamed the area until around 4,000 years ago.

Experts believe that the spear (pictured) could have been used to kill woolly mammoths and rhinos, both of which became extinct thousands of years ago in Siberia

The discovery was 240 miles (386 km) north of earlier finds of tools and implements of ancient man, at a site on the Yana River, also in the Sakha Republic.