Archaeologists have unearthed the oldest known wooden tools in Greece, dating back 430,000 years. The discovery challenges long-held assumptions about early human capabilities, revealing that our ancestors relied on wood for toolmaking much earlier—and potentially more extensively—than previously understood. These artifacts predate definitive evidence of Neanderthal presence in the region and suggest that earlier hominin species, possibly Homo heidelbergensis or even a pre-Neanderthal population, possessed advanced woodworking skills.
The Marathousa 1 Site: A Window into the Past
The tools were recovered from an opencast lignite mine at Marathousa 1 in southern Greece. This site preserves sediments dating back nearly a million years, offering a rare glimpse into a time when Europe experienced severe glacial conditions. The mine exposes layers of ancient lake shore, preserving remains of extinct animals like hippos and straight-tusked elephants alongside stone tools and now, these wooden artifacts.
The team utilized multiple dating methods, including paleomagnetic analysis and luminescence testing, to confirm the age of the site. This precision is crucial because wooden preservation is exceptionally rare; the few finds we have dramatically alter our understanding of prehistoric technology.
The Tools Themselves: A Stick and a Mystery
The discovery includes two distinct wooden tools. One is a substantial 81-centimeter alder stick, clearly shaped by intentional carving and chopping marks. One end appears to have been rounded for use as a handle, while the other end shows wear consistent with digging or processing animal carcasses. The second artifact, a smaller 5.7-centimeter piece of willow or poplar, bears deliberate shaping marks but its purpose remains unclear. It may have been used for refining stone tools, though the researchers acknowledge that it could be a fragment of a larger, unknown item.
The existence of these tools is significant because wood decays quickly. Their survival at Marathousa 1 is an anomaly, suggesting that early hominins likely used wooden implements far more frequently than the archaeological record currently reflects.
Implications and Future Research
The Marathousa 1 findings place these wooden tools among the oldest known examples of their kind. The 476,000-year-old structures from Kalambo Falls in Zambia are older, but appear to represent larger constructions rather than individual tools. Other contenders, such as the Clacton Spear in the UK and the Schöningen spears in Germany, have faced revised dating, with some estimates now placing them at 200,000 to 300,000 years old.
The identity of the toolmakers remains uncertain. The site predates the confirmed arrival of Homo sapiens and may even be earlier than the earliest Neanderthals in Europe. This raises the possibility that a more primitive hominin species, such as Homo heidelbergensis, was capable of sophisticated woodworking.
“This discovery underscores the importance of ongoing archaeological research in Europe, where evidence of early human innovation continues to emerge.”
These findings demand further investigation into the role of wood in early human technology. As preservation conditions remain rare, the true extent of wooden tool use by our ancestors may never be fully known.
