- Archaeological News
-
Image Credit: Katerina Harvati, Nicholas Thompson via AP
Oldest Known Wooden Tools Discovered at Prehistoric Site in Greece
Archaeologists have identified the oldest wooden tools yet recovered, dating to around 430,000 years ago, from a lakeshore site in southern Greece. The rare finds provide new insight into the technologies used by early human populations, whose reliance on wood is often archaeologically invisible due to poor preservation.
The two artifacts were uncovered in the Megalopolis basin, a site long known for its prehistoric deposits. One object is a slender wooden stick about 80 centimeters long, interpreted as a possible digging tool used in soft, wet ground. The second is a smaller handheld piece of willow or poplar, whose function remains uncertain but may relate to shaping or maintaining stone tools.
Wooden implements are exceptionally rare in the archaeological record because organic materials decay rapidly. In this case, the tools are thought to have been rapidly buried by sediment and preserved in a waterlogged environment, conditions that prevented their decomposition. Although the wooden objects were not directly dated, the surrounding archaeological layers—including stone tools and butchered elephant bones—securely date the site to about 430,000 years ago.
No human remains have yet been found at Megalopolis, leaving open the question of who used the tools. They may have belonged to early Neanderthals or other human ancestors active in the region at the time.
Comparable wooden tools are known from only a handful of sites worldwide, such as prehistoric spears in Germany and digging sticks from China. The Greek discoveries add to this limited record and highlight a little-known aspect of early human technology, emphasizing that wood played a crucial role alongside stone and bone in prehistoric toolkits.
Published on: 26-01-2026
Edited by: Abdulmnam Samakie
Source: Associated Press