• Email Us: [email protected]
  • Contact Us: +1 718 874 1545
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Medical Market Report

  • Home
  • All Reports
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

World’s Oldest Wooden Structure Made By Ancient Humans Is 476,000 Years Old

September 21, 2023 by Deborah Bloomfield

Archaeologists believe they have found evidence of a 476,000-year-old wooden structure in Africa. If their work is correct, this would be the earliest known wooden structure ever discovered, marking a mind-blowing milestone in the development of ancient humans.

The wooden remains were discovered around the Kalambo River basin of Zambia near to Kalambo Falls. Describing the findings in a new study, the researchers write that the remains consist of “two interlocking logs joined transversely by an intentionally cut notch.” 

Advertisement

As shown by the cut marks from stone tools, it’s clear that this wasn’t just a fallen tree log. Instead, it was an intentionally crafted object that likely served as a part of a structure, perhaps a walkway or a raised platform to cope with the area’s intermittent flooding.

The discovery is exceptional as it’s incredibly rare for wood to remain intact for this long. Left to the elements, wood will quickly rot and decompose. However, the permanently high water levels found at Kalambo Falls managed to preserve the wood in relatively good condition. 

To date the woody remains, scientists at the University of Liverpool used new luminescence dating techniques. Remarkably, this method is able to determine the age of an object by working out when minerals in the sand surrounding the remains were exposed to sunlight.

This technique dated the site to 476,000 years ago, which is much older than previous dating techniques estimated. This is long before our species (Homo sapiens) even evolved, indicating the structure was the work of another hominin.

The excavation team uncovering the wooden structure.

The excavation team uncovering the wooden structure.

Image credit: Professor Larry Barham, University of Liverpool

The findings challenge many of the assumptions we had about ancient humans around this time. Firstly, it strongly indicates that Stone Age humans were not strictly nomadic. Kalambo Falls had a permanent source of water, as well as an abundant forest that would have provided them with more than enough food and resources. It’s not hard to imagine that they settled down here, using the forest trees to construct permanent structures that lasted for generations. 

Secondly, this evidence suggests these ancient humans were more technologically advanced than we usually give them credit for. If this wood really was once someone’s home, it shows they had physical skill, advanced tool use, and even an element of creativity that allowed them to “see the wood for the trees,” so to speak. 

Ultimately, it looks like these ancient humans – who were not Homo sapiens – were more like us than previously thought. 

“This find has changed how I think about our early ancestors. Forget the label ‘Stone Age,’ look at what these people were doing: they made something new, and large, from wood. They used their intelligence, imagination, and skills to create something they’d never seen before, something that had never previously existed,” Professor Larry Barham, an archaeologist from the University of Liverpool who leads the “Deep Roots of Humanity” research project, said in a statement.

Advertisement

“They transformed their surroundings to make life easier, even if it was only by making a platform to sit on by the river to do their daily chores. These folks were more like us than we thought.”

The new study was published in the journal Nature. 

Deborah Bloomfield
Deborah Bloomfield

Related posts:

  1. Soccer – FIFA backs down on threat to fine Premier clubs who play South American players
  2. U.S. House passes abortion rights bill, outlook poor in Senate
  3. Two children killed in missile strikes on Yemen’s Marib – state news agency
  4. We’ve Breached Six Of The Nine “Planetary Boundaries” For Sustaining Human Civilization

Source Link: World's Oldest Wooden Structure Made By Ancient Humans Is 476,000 Years Old

Filed Under: News

Primary Sidebar

  • Alaska’s Wilderness At Risk As Trump Opens “Up To 82 Percent” Of National Reserve To Drilling
  • “Life-Changing” Gene Therapy Restores Hearing In Deaf Patients Within Weeks After Just One Shot
  • Man Broke Down Wall In His Basement And Discovered An Ancient Underground City That Once Housed 20,000 People
  • Same-Sex Penguin Couple Adopt And Raise Chick – And They’ve All Got 10/10 Names
  • Dolphins May Not “See” With Echolocation, But Instead “Feel” With It
  • Confirmed! Comet 3I/ATLAS Is Indeed An Interstellar Visitor, Quite Different From Its Predecessors
  • At 192, Jonathan – The Oldest Living Land Animal – Has Lived Through 40 US Presidents
  • 300,000-Year-Old Wooden Tools “Made By Denisovans” Discovered In China
  • Why Do Cats Eyes Glow? For The Same Reason Great White Sharks’ Do, Silly
  • G-astronomical News: Michelin-Starred Meal To Be Served On The ISS
  • In 2032, Earth May Witness A Once-In-5,000-Year Event On The Moon
  • Brand New Microscope Designed For Underwater Reveals Stunning Details Of Corals
  • The Atlantic’s Major Circulation Current Is Showing Worrying Signs, But Is Collapse Near?
  • “The Rings Held The Answer”: How We Finally Figured Out Saturn’s Day Length In 2019
  • Mystery Of Leonardo Da Vinci’s “Vitruvian Man” Solved By A Dentist And A Protractor
  • Asteroid Ryugu’s Latest Mineral Is As Weird As Finding “A Tropical Seed In The Arctic”
  • IFLScience The Big Questions: Are We Living Through A Sixth Mass Extinction?
  • Alien Abduction Or A Trick Of The Mind? A Down To Earth Explanation Of Close Encounters
  • Six Months Into Trump’s Presidency, Americans Report Record Low Pride In Being American
  • TikToker Unknowingly Handles Extremely Venomous Cone Snail And Lives To Tell The Tale
  • Business
  • Health
  • News
  • Science
  • Technology
  • +1 718 874 1545
  • +91 78878 22626
  • [email protected]
Office Address
Prudour Pvt. Ltd. 420 Lexington Avenue Suite 300 New York City, NY 10170.

Powered by Prudour Network

Copyrights © 2025 · Medical Market Report. All Rights Reserved.

Go to mobile version