Scientists discovered two wooden tools in Greece that date back 430,000 years, making them the oldest wooden tools ever found. One stick-like tool about 2.5 feet long could have been used for digging in mud, while a smaller handheld piece of willow or poplar wood may have been used to shape stone tools, according to research published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The discovery offers a rare glimpse into how ancient humans used materials beyond stone and bone. Wood decays quickly, making ancient wooden tools extremely difficult to find and preserve. Such tools survive only in special environments like underwater, frozen, or cave settings.
The discovery of two wooden tools in a Greek lake basin offers archaeologists a rare window into ancient human technology. Found in the Megalopolis basin, the tools date back 430,000 years and are the oldest wooden implements ever uncovered.
One artifact is a slender stick approximately 2.5 feet (80 centimeters) long that could have been used for digging in mud. The other is a smaller, more mysterious handheld piece of willow or poplar wood that may have been used to shape stone tools. The findings were published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Why Wooden Tools Matter
Wooden tools reveal how ancient humans relied on materials beyond stone and bone. Yet evidence of such tools is extremely difficult to recover. Wood decays quickly and is only preserved in specific conditions—underwater, frozen environments, or caves. The artifacts in Greece survived because they were likely buried rapidly by sediment and protected by a wet environment over thousands of years.
The Megalopolis basin has long been a rich archaeological site. For years, researchers have uncovered stone tools and elephant bones bearing cut marks there. But with no human remains found at the site, it remains unclear who created and wielded these wooden tools. The users could have been Neanderthals, early human ancestors, or someone else entirely.
What Experts Say
“I’ve always just been thrilled to be able to touch these objects,” said Annemieke Milks, study author at the University of Reading.
Archaeologist Jarod Hutson with the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, who was not involved in the study, noted that the tools’ unassuming appearance complicates their interpretation. “It’s difficult to get excited about these because they don’t strike you immediately as wooden tools. And we don’t know what they were used for,” Hutson said.
Despite these interpretive challenges, comparable finds elsewhere illuminate what such ancient implements might accomplish. A set of wooden spears from Germany and Chinese digging sticks dating to 300,000 years ago may have been used to harvest plants, suggesting the range of functions ancient wooden implements served.
A World Yet to Explore
The Megalopolis basin site probably contains more archaeological treasures yet to be discovered. According to Katerina Harvati, study author at the University of Tübingen, the new find offers a rare glimpse at “a little known aspect of the technology of early humans.”