NEW YORK — Researchers in Greece have unearthed two of the oldest wooden tools ever discovered, dating back approximately 430,000 years, shedding light on early humans’ technology.
One artifact is a slender stick about 2 1/2 feet (80 centimeters) long, likely used for digging in mud, while the other is a smaller handheld piece of willow or poplar wood, which may have helped shape stone tools, according to a study published Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
While stone and bone tools are common in the archaeological record, wooden tools are extremely rare due to rapid decay. Preservation usually occurs in special environments such as ice, caves, or underwater. The tools found in Greece’s Megalopolis basin were likely quickly buried by sediment and preserved in wet conditions over millennia.
Previous excavations at the site have uncovered stone tools and elephant bones with cut marks, but no human remains have yet been found, leaving the identity of the tool users uncertain. They could have been Neanderthals, early human ancestors, or other hominin species.
“I’ve always just been thrilled to be able to touch these objects,” said study author Annemieke Milks of the University of Reading.
Archaeologist Jarod Hutson of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History noted the tools’ unassuming appearance makes them difficult to interpret. “It’s difficult to get excited about these because they don’t strike you immediately as wooden tools. And we don’t know what they were used for,” he said.
Previous discoveries of ancient wooden tools include spears from Germany and 300,000-year-old digging sticks in China, used for harvesting plants.
“These finds offer a rare glimpse into the little-known aspect of early human technology,” said study author Katerina Harvati of the University of Tübingen. “They remind us of the variety of tools our ancestors used to survive.”
Edgardo Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
- EDGARDO HERNAL
- EDGARDO HERNAL
- EDGARDO HERNAL
- EDGARDO HERNAL
