Researchers have uncovered the oldest known hand-held wooden tools ever discovered, offering new insight into the skills and behavior of early humans nearly half a 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 the ancient artifacts at the Marathousa 1 archaeological site in central Greece’s Peloponnese region. The findings date back around 430,000 years.
The study, published in the journal PNAS, describes two carefully worked wooden objects that were shaped and used by humans. One was made from alder wood, while the other came from either willow or poplar. Researchers say the discovery pushes back evidence for this type of wooden tool use by at least 40,000 years.
The site also contained stone tools along with the remains of elephants and other animals, suggesting the area was once used for butchering prey near the edge of an ancient lake. Early humans occupied the site during the Middle Pleistocene, a period spanning roughly 774,000 to 129,000 years ago.
“The Middle Pleistocene was a critical phase in human evolution, during which more complex behaviors developed. The earliest reliable evidence of the targeted technological use of plants also dates from this period,” says Professor Katerina Harvati, a paleoanthropologist and expert in human evolution, who leads the long-term research program at Marathousa 1.
Ancient Humans Worked Wood With Surprising Skill
Previous discoveries at the site, including stone and bone artifacts, had already shown that the people living there carried out a wide range of activities with considerable skill. Because of this, the research team decided to closely examine pieces of preserved wood recovered during excavations.
“Unlike stones, wooden objects need special conditions to survive over long periods of time,” says Dr. Annemieke Milks, a leading expert in early wooden tools. “We examined all the wooden remains closely, looking at their surfaces under microscopes. We found marks from chopping and carving on two objects — clear signs that early humans had shaped them.”
One of the wooden artifacts was a small section of an alder branch or trunk that displayed clear shaping marks as well as signs of wear from use. Researchers believe it may have been used for digging in soft ground near the lakeshore or possibly for stripping bark from trees.
The second artifact was a much smaller 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. Researchers also studied a larger alder fragment with grooves carved into its surface. After detailed analysis, they concluded the marks had been left by a large carnivore, possibly a bear, rather than 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 finds from Marathousa 1,” Annemieke Milks says. There is only one older piece of evidence of wood used by humans, from the Kalambo Falls site in Zambia, dating to around 476,000 years ago. Yet that wood was used not as a tool but as structural material.
“We have discovered the oldest wooden tools known to date, as well as the first evidence of this kind from southeastern Europe,” Harvati says. “This shows once again how exceptionally good the conditions at the Marathousa 1 site are for preservation. And the fact that large carnivores left their mark near the butchered elephant alongside human activity indicates fierce competition between the two.”
The international research team also included scientists from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, the University of Ioannina, the Hellenic Ministry of Culture, and the American School of Classical Studies at Athens.
Research at the Marathousa 1 site was funded by the European Research Council and the German Science Foundation.