Incredible find in europe Greece’s Megalopolis: The worlds oldest wooden tools ever found, 430,000 years old
An archaeological discovery in Greece has brought to light the oldest wooden tools ever found, dating back approximately 430,000 years . The finds were found on the shores of a lake in the Megalopolis area and offer valuable information about the technology of early humans.
The first object is a thin stick about 80 centimeters long , likely used for digging in mud. The second is a smaller piece of wood, made of willow or poplar, that may have been used to shape stone tools, according to research published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences .
Scientists estimate that ancient humans used a variety of tools made of stone, bone, and wood. However, the discovery of wooden tools is extremely rare , as the material decomposes quickly. Such objects are preserved only in special conditions, such as in ice, caves, or underwater. The excavation in Megalopolis
The new finds were preserved thanks to their rapid covering by sediments and the wet environment of the area . Other remains have also been found at the same site, such as stone tools and elephant bones with cutting marks. Although the wooden objects have not been directly dated, the layer in which they were found is estimated to be 430,000 years old.
“ I’m always in awe when I touch these objects ,” said study author Annemieke Milks of the University of Reading. So far, no human remains have been found at the site, which leaves open the question of what kind of people used them — Neanderthals, early humans or other relatives.
Archaeologist Jarod Hutson of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History believes the site likely holds other important finds . However, he noted that the simple shape of the two tools makes them difficult to interpret: ” It’s hard to get excited about, because they don’t immediately look like tools and we don’t know what they were used for . “Similar wooden tools have been found elsewhere, such as spears in Germany and digging sticks in China , which are about 300,000 years old. The new findings from Megalopolis offer a rare glimpse into the technology of early humans and enrich our knowledge of the survival skills of that time.
As researcher Katerina Charvati from the University of Tübingen said, the discovery is ” a glimpse into a little-known aspect of early human technology .”
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