Archaeologists working in Greece have unearthed a pair of wooden tools dating back approximately 430,000 years, making them the oldest handheld implements of their kind ever discovered.
The remarkable artefacts, recovered from the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece, were fashioned by an as-yet unidentified hominin species that existed long before modern humans walked the earth.
The discovery was made public in research in the scientific journal PNAS.
"The objects represent the oldest hand-held wooden tools ever found, pushing back evidence of this type of tool use by at least 40,000 years," the research team stated.
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The find significantly extends understanding of early tool-making capabilities among humans' ancient ancestors.
The larger of the two implements, discovered at the Marathousa site, measures 81 centimetres in length and displays distinctive splintering and fraying at one end.
These wear patterns strongly suggest it served as a digging stick, with researchers noting its shape and dimensions align with tools used for that purpose.
The second artefact is considerably smaller at just 5.7 centimetres long and has had its bark entirely removed.
The find significantly extends understanding of early tool-making capabilities among humans' ancient ancestors
|Universitat Tubingen/PA
One end shows evidence of rounding and pitting, though its precise function remains a mystery to scientists.
The research team has speculated it may have been employed in the production of stone tools, though this cannot be confirmed.
Both items were preserved after becoming buried in waterlogged soil, which created a low-oxygen environment protecting the organic materials from decay.
The excavation also yielded animal and plant remains that allowed scientists to reconstruct the ancient landscape surrounding the tool-makers.
A rich lakeshore habitat emerges from the evidence, populated by both land-dwelling and semi-aquatic mammals alongside freshwater molluscs, turtles and birds.
Among the creatures that once roamed this environment were elephants, hippopotamuses, deer and wild boar.
Dr Annemieke Milks, an archaeologist at the University of Reading and the study's lead author, explained that Europe was enduring "an extremely cold glacial period" when these tools were in use.
However, this particular lakeside location would have offered a comparatively hospitable refuge from the harsh conditions prevailing elsewhere on the continent.
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Europe was enduring "an extremely cold glacial period" when these tools were in use
|G. PRIETO/K. HARVATI
The waterlogged conditions at the site proved crucial for preservation, protecting not only the wooden implements but other organic materials as well.
The tools predate the emergence of Homo sapiens by roughly 130,000 years, leaving researchers uncertain about which species crafted them.
"There aren't human remains from [Marathousa] and for this period there is a bit of ambiguity at the moment about hominin species. It could have been Homo heidelbergensis, or possibly very early Neanderthals," Dr Milks told Live Science.
Stone and bone implements had previously been identified at the location, meaning the wooden discoveries demonstrate these ancient beings worked with multiple materials.
Professor Katerina Harvati, a paleoanthropology expert at the University of Tübingen, noted the tools "provide a rare glimpse into a component of their technology that we know very little about, that which was based on [perishable] plant derived materials rather than stones."
The artefacts "highlight the behavioral adaptability and flexibility of the Marathousa hominins," she added.