World's Most Ancient Wooden Structure Discovered in Africa - 476,000 Years Old!

In the heart of Africa, archaeologists have discovered the oldest evidence yet of a wooden structure crafted by the hands of a human ancestor. Two tree trunks, notched like Lincoln logs, were discovered at the bottom of Zambia's Kalambo River. If the log's estimated age of 476,000 years is correct, it means that woodworking predates the emergence of our own species, Homo sapiens, and demonstrates the intelligence of our hominin ancestors. Archaeologists discovered the logs at Kalambo Falls, on Lake Tanganyika in northern Zambia, near the Tanzanian border, a site that has been studied by scientists since the 1950s. Previous excavations near the falls yielded stone tools, preserved pollen, and wooden artefacts that have helped researchers learn more about human evolution and culture over hundreds of thousands of years. A new analysis of five modified pieces of wood from Kalambo, however, is pushing back the site's earliest occupation and providing researchers with new insight into the minds of our Middle Pleistocene ancestors. Researchers described the wooden objects they discovered in a recently published new study. Two were discovered with stone tools below the river, and three were discovered covered in clay deposits above the river level. Because of the permanently elevated water table, these wooden artefacts have survived for hundreds of thousands of years. Through luminescence dating of sand samples from the site, archaeologists' colleagues discovered three clusters, a cut log and a tapered piece of wood dating to 324,000 years ago, a digging stick dating to 390,000 years ago, and a wooden wedge and two overlapping logs dating to 476,000 years ago. While the small modified hunks of wood from Kalambo are similar to 400,000-year-old foraging and hunting tools discovered in Europe and China, the interlocking logs have no known parallels in the African or Eurasian Paleolithic, according to the researchers. Fossil skulls in Africa at this time include Bodo Man from Ethiopia, but fossils from Zambia are almost unknown for this time. The upper log, recovered from a layer that also contained stone tools, was 55 inches long and was discovered lying at a 75-degree angle on a large tree trunk. The bottom of the top log and the top of the bottom trunk both had evidence of chopping and scraping to create a notch, allowing them to fit together snugly. Wood from tree trunks allowed humans to build large objects, implying that building a raised platform, walkway, or foundation for dwellings would improve their life in a periodically wet floodplain. The newly discovered objects could help scientists better understand our hominin ancestors' technology by pushing back the dates of the earliest examples of woodworking. Archaeological evidence of hominin behaviour is typically derived from nearly indestructible artefacts such as stone tools, so the discovery of well-preserved perishable wooden items at Kalambo Falls is highly significant. Given the prevalence of wood, it is unthinkable that hominins would not use it. The new study demonstrates that humans and hominins used available resources, and the very early date of the notched logs necessitates a rethinking of how human cultural and biological evolution is understood. Scientists previously thought that the hominins who lived at Kalambo Falls during the Middle Pleistocene were nomadic foragers with little technological skill, but new discoveries show that they were far more intelligent than previously thought, according to the researchers. This evidence enables us to consider various materials used by hominins, such as those that left traces, and those that are perishable. Meanwhile, in Europe, traces of large huts have been discovered at Terra Amata in southern France. The huts were built by planting saplings in an oval pattern and then connecting their tops in the centre. The saplings were braced by stones placed in a ring around the hut. Hearths scooped in the ground and lined with burnt stones and blackened bones were discovered in some of these huts. On a fossil beach, there was a settlement with several layers of habitation. The habitations dated back to 380,000 BC and included evidence that the inhabitants lived in beach huts. Each hut had a fireplace in the centre, with ashes indicating that the inhabitants had domesticated fire. The discovery of red ochre at Terra Amata suggests that ancient humans used ochre for personal adornment. According to dental evidence, these hominins were probably right-handed. The last common ancestor was a sophisticated hunter, as evidenced by wooden projectile spears attributed to this species discovered in Schöningen, Germany. The relics included low walls of stones and beach pebbles placed north-west of the fireplaces, to protect the fire from the strong mistral wind. Archaeologists thought the huts were made of animal skins supported by poles, with a hole in the centre for the smoke to escape. A shelter of this size could house between 20 and 40 people. If this theory is correct, Terra Amata is one of Europe's oldest discoveries of man-made human settlements. This ancient shelter provided shelter for an early human family or social group. At this location, scientists discovered post holes and other evidence of multiple shelters. Some shelters were up to 50 feet long, which has implications for There is also the first convincing evidence of two other innovations at 400,000 years ago, the domestication of fire in hearths and the construction of artificial shelters. In Asia, Homo erectus was known to have used stone tools, and it now appears that our ancient ancestor also constructed shelters. Archaeologists in Japan have discovered the remains of what is thought to be the world's oldest artificial structure. The site has been dated to 500,000 years ago, when Homo erectus lived in the area. It appears to be ten post holes that form two irregular pentagons, thought to be the remains of two huts. Thirty stone tools were discovered scattered throughout the site. On a hillside north of Tokyo, Japanese archaeologists discovered the remains of what is thought to be the world's oldest artificial structure 20 years ago. The shelter would have been constructed by an ancient human ancestor known to have used stone tools, Homo erectus. According to a report in New Scientist, the site dates back half a million years. It appears to be ten post holes forming two irregular pentagons, which could be the remains of two huts. Thirty stone tools were also discovered scattered throughout the site. If this is correctly dated and interpreted, it is the first good evidence of a hut structure built by these people 500,000 years ago. Prior to the discovery, the oldest remains of a structure were found in Terra Amata, France, between 200,000 and 400,000 years ago. Archaeologists discovered a layer of volcanic ash in which the shallow post holes were dug after digging through about two metres of river deposits. The holes stood out clearly from the volcanic layer. They had The remains may shed light on how Homo erectus lived and hunted. It's evidence that they built structures, but we don't know how permanent they were. Who knows if this was a shelter they stayed in for a week or a month. It's fascinating because it demonstrates that hominids could imagine using technology to organise their lives. They had the idea of building a structure, a place where people could sleep. It symbolises a conceptual divide between inside and outside, and an important step in human evolution.