Archaeologists Uncover Notched Logs That May Be the Oldest Known Wooden Structure
The interlocking pieces, found near a waterfall in Zambia, date to 476,000 years ago—before Homo sapiens evolved
Will Sullivan
Daily Correspondent
The excavation team uncovering the wooden structure. It was unearthed along the Kalambo River in Zambia at a site called Kalambo Falls. Professor Larry Barham, University of Liverpool
Archaeologists have uncovered evidence of the oldest wooden structure on record: a pair of interlocking logs connected by a notch that date to 476,000 years ago.
Discovered along the Kalambo River in Zambia, the simple construction predates the first appearance of Homo sapiens in Africa. The discovery, detailed in a new paper published Wednesday in Nature, suggests human ancestors built structures made of wood and may have been more complex than previously thought.
“This is a disruptive discovery,” Larry Barham, a co-author of the new study and an archaeolog ist at the University of Liverpool in England, tells
Scientific American’s Tom Metcalfe. “I never would have thought that pre-Homo sapiens would have had the capacity to plan something like this.”
“It’s an important window into what these humans were capable of,” Annemieke Milks, an archaeologist at the University of Reading in England who did not contribute to the research, tells Maddie Burakoff of the Associated Press (AP).
Wooden artifacts typically don’t survive for millennia because they break down, disappearing from the historical record if they’re not well-preserved. But in this case, the researchers think that water may have protected the wood, which was discovered near a waterfall, per the Agence France-Presse (AFP).
More:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-uncover-notched-logs-that-may-be-the-oldest-known-wooden-structure-180982942/
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September 22, 2023
Rebecca McPhee
Africa | Archaeology
On the banks of the Kalambo River in Zambia, archaeologists have made a discovery that may change our understanding of ancient life in Africa. Two interlocking logs that date back 476,000 years show clear signs of woodworking. It is the oldest known wooden structure in the world.
The logs, which came from a large-fruited bushwillow tree, have notches carved into their ends. Archaeologists found nearby tools, such as axes, that could have done this cutting and scraping.
The researchers found a number of other items at the site, including a wedge, a digging stick, and a chopping block. All date between 324,000 and 390,000 years ago. It means that woodworking pre-dates the evolution of Homo sapiens by over 100,000 years.
Made before Homo sapiens
The unknown structure was likely made by Homo heidelbergensis. The common ancestor of Homo sapiens and Neanderthals, heidelbergensis lived between 200,000 and 700,000 years ago. No human remains have ever turned up at the Kalambo Falls site, but a Homo heidelbergensis skull was found previously in Zambia.
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More:
https://explorersweb.com/oldest-known-wooden-structure-zambia/