A groundbreaking discovery has been made by researchers, revealing the earliest evidence of early humans using wood to build structures. Dating back almost half a million years, this primitive construction consists of two overlapping logs fitted together with a notch. The findings, published in a study in Nature, shed light on the ancient use of wood by human ancestors and their impact on the environment. “Initially, it didn’t seem significant,” says Larry Barham, an archaeologist from the University of Liverpool and the author of the study. “But upon further analysis, we realized its complexity.”
The log structure, along with a few wooden tools, was unearthed by Barham and his team at a riverbed site in Zambia, situated above a waterfall. “The exact purpose of the structure is still uncertain,” notes an article in Nature. Typically, wood decomposes quickly when exposed to the elements, leaving little evidence of its historical use by early humans. However, in this case, the materials were preserved due to their submersion in the river.
When the logs were discovered in 2019, they displayed clear signs of human shaping—such as a notch carved into the upper log, tapered ends, and tool marks on the surface. “Everything appeared so fresh that you questioned its age,” Barham remarks. Determining the exact age presented its own challenge since traditional dating methods were unable to reach far enough into the past. The researchers instead employed a new technique called luminescence dating, utilizing tiny minerals in the surrounding sand to estimate the burial duration, as explained by Geoff Duller, a dating methods expert from Aberystwyth University in Wales.
The log structure was constructed at least 476,000 years ago, while the wood tools are slightly younger, dating to under 400,000 years old. This places the materials in a time before the evolution of our species, Homo sapiens. They were likely made by another early human species, possibly Homo heidelbergensis, which coexisted in Africa at that time. This indicates that these ancient humans invested effort in their living spaces, suggesting that they may have stayed in one place or made repeated visits, rather than roaming as nomadic hunter-gatherer bands, according to archaeologist Dirk Leder from Germany’s Lower Saxony State Office for Cultural Heritage, who was not involved in the research.
(Read more discoveries stories.)
Denial of responsibility! Vigour Times is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
