Researchers from the University of Liverpool and Aberystwyth University have made a groundbreaking discovery: humans were building wooden structures half a million years ago, much earlier than previously thought. This discovery challenges the long-held view that Stone Age humans were nomadic and technologically unsophisticated. The researchers found evidence of a simple wooden structure, made by shaping two logs with stone tools, at the archaeological site of Kalambo Falls in Zambia.
The structure may have formed part of a walkway or platform for human ancestors who lived along the Kalambo River nearly 500,000 years ago. This discovery is significant because it suggests that humans were more advanced than previously thought. It also shows that humans were able to adapt to their environment and build structures to meet their needs, even in the harsh Stone Age world.
The research, published in the journal Nature, reports on the excavation of well-preserved wood at the archaeological site of Kalambo Falls, Zambia, dating back at least 476,000 years and predating the evolution of our own species, Homo sapiens. Expert analysis of stone tool cut marks on the wood shows that these early humans shaped and joined two large logs to make a structure, probably the foundation of a platform or part of a dwelling.
This is the earliest evidence from anywhere in the world of the deliberate crafting of logs to fit together. Until now, evidence for the human use of wood was limited to its use for making fire, digging sticks, and making spears.
Kalambo Falls in Zambia, where the wood was found.
In a press release, the researchers explained that wood is rarely found at such ancient sites as it usually rots and disappears, but at Kalambo Falls, permanently high water levels preserved the wood. This discovery challenges the prevailing view that Stone Age humans were nomadic. At Kalambo Falls, these humans not only had a perennial source of water, but the forest around them provided enough food to enable them to settle and make structures.
According to Professor Larry Barham, who heads the 'Deep Roots of Humanity' research initiative at the University of Liverpool's Department of Archaeology, Classics, and Egyptology, "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."
"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 specialist dating of the finds was undertaken by experts at Aberystwyth University.
Professor Geoff Duller from Aberystwyth University said: "At this great age, putting a date on finds is very challenging, and we used luminescence dating to do this. These new dating methods have far-reaching implications, allowing us to date much further back in time and piece together sites that give us a glimpse into human evolution. The site at Kalambo Falls had been excavated back in the 1960s when similar pieces of wood were recovered, but they were unable to date them, so the true significance of the site was unclear until now."
The release mentioned that the Kalambo Falls site is situated along the Kalambo River, just upstream from a towering 235-meter (772-foot) waterfall, nestled on the border that separates Zambia and the Rukwa Region of Tanzania, adjacent to the picturesque Lake Tanganyika. Remarkably, this locale finds itself on UNESCO's 'tentative' list, poised to potentially attain World Heritage status owing to its profound archaeological importance.
