Researchers have unearthed the oldest hand-held wooden tools ever discovered, providing new insights into the skills and behavior of early humans some five million years ago.
An international team led by scientists from the University of Reading, the University of Tübingen and the Senckenberg Nature Research Society identified ancient artefacts at the Marathousa 1 archaeological site in the Peloponnese region of central Greece. These findings date back approximately 430,000 years.
Study, published in journal PNASDescribes two carefully worked wooden objects that were shaped and used by humans. One was made of alder wood, while the other was made of willow or poplar. Researchers say the discovery pushes evidence of the use of these types of wooden tools back at least 40,000 years.
The site also contained stone tools along with the remains of elephants and other animals, suggesting that the area was used for harvesting prey along the banks of an ancient lake. Early humans occupied the site during the Middle Pleistocene, a period approximately 774,000 to 129,000 years ago.
“The Middle Pleistocene was an important stage in human evolution, during which more complex behaviors evolved. The earliest reliable evidence of targeted technological use of plants also comes from this period,” says Professor Katerina Harvati, a paleontologist and expert in human evolution, who leads the long-term research program at Marathousa 1.
Ancient humans worked with wood with amazing skill
Previous discoveries at the site, including stone and bone artefacts, had already shown that the people who lived there performed a variety of activities with considerable skill. Because of this, the research team decided to closely examine the pieces of preserved wood recovered during the excavation.
“Unlike stone, wooden objects require special conditions to survive over a long period of time,” says Dr. Annemike Milks, a leading expert on early wooden tools. “We examined all the wooden remains closely, looking at their surfaces under microscopes. We found cutting and carving marks on two objects – clear signs that early humans had shaped them.”
One of the wooden artifacts was a small section of alder branch or trunk that displayed obvious shape marks as well as wear marks from use. Researchers believe it may have been used for digging in the soft ground along the lake shore or possibly for stripping bark from trees.
The second artifact was a very small piece of willow or poplar wood that also showed evidence of carving and possible use by humans.
Predator claw marks reveal a dangerous environment
Not every marked piece of wood at the site was shaped by people. The researchers also studied a large piece of alder that had grooves carved into its surface. After detailed analysis, they concluded that the marks were left by a large carnivore, possibly a bear, rather than by humans.
“The oldest wooden tools come from places such as the United Kingdom, Zambia, Germany and China and include weapons, digging sticks and tool handles. However, they are all more recent than our discovery from Marathossa 1,” says Annemike Milks. The only oldest evidence of wood used by humans is from the Kalambo Falls site in Zambia, which dates back to about 476,000 years ago. Yet that wood was used not as a tool but as a structural material.
“We have discovered the oldest wooden tools ever known, as well as the first evidence of their kind from Southeastern Europe,” says Harvati. “This shows once again how exceptionally good the conditions for conservation are at the Marathousa 1 site. And the fact that large carnivores left their mark near the killed elephant alongside human activity indicates fierce competition between the two.”
The international research team also included scientists from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, the University of Ioannina, the Hellenic Ministry of Culture, and the American School of Classical Studies in Athens.
Research at the Marathousa 1 site was funded by the European Research Council and the German Science Foundation.