Prehistoric Carpentry: Ancient 'Wooden Construction' Unearthed in Zambia
14:26 21.09.2023 (Updated: 07:31 22.09.2023)
© Photo Nature / Professor Larry Barham, University of Liverpool
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Although wooden artifacts from the Early Stone Age rarely survive to this day and require exceptional conditions for preservation, scientists have managed to find a unique wooden structure that is as yet unparalleled.
Researchers from the University of Liverpool have discovered what is probably the oldest wooden structure on an archaeological site in Kalambo Falls, Zambia.
The find, made in Zambia in 2019 by archaeologist Larry Barham and described by the researchers in the recent article in the journal Nature, was a simple structure of two intertwined logs connected across by a deliberately carved notch, dated by luminescence to at least 476,000 years ago, that is, long before Homo sapiens are thought to have emerged (about 300,000 years ago).
The underlying log passes through a central notch cut into the upper log (object 1033) and extends into the section. Plan view of the unit (left) and during excavation (right). The numbers refer to the distance in centimeters.
© Photo Nature / Professor Larry Barham, University of Liverpool
The researchers hypothesized that the structure served as part of a walkway or platform for human ancestors, who apparently already knew how to work wood.
"The recovery of modified wood with an exceptional level of preservation at Kalambo Falls places woodworking firmly in the Mid-Pleistocene of Africa [...] Wood from tree trunks enabled humans to construct large objects such as platform foundations that necessitated tools for felling and hewing," the article read.
Also at the archaeological site, scientists found four supposedly modified wooden tools ranging in age from 390,000 to 324,000 years ago, including a wedge, a digging stick, a cut log and a notched branch.
"The finds show an unexpected early diversity of forms and the capacity to shape tree trunks into large combined structures. These new data not only extend the age range of woodworking in Africa but expand our understanding of the technical cognition of early hominins, forcing re-examination of the use of trees in the history of technology," the researchers argued.
Barham and his team started visiting Kalambo Falls in the early 2000s to date the site using modern methods and search for more stone tools.
Location of Kalambo Falls archaeological site and excavated areas
© Nature / Professor Larry Barham, University of Liverpool
Previously, between 1950 and 1960, UK archaeologists had found stone and wooden objects in the area that were difficult to determine the age of.
