Scientists found 5-foot logs from 476,000 years ago that had woodwork done on them using stone tools, which is a rare neolithic find in South Africa. Read more here.
Along the banks of the Kalambo River in Zambia near Africa's second-highest waterfall, archaeologists have excavated two logs of the large-fruited bushwillow tree that were notched, shaped and joined nearly half a million years ago. The logs, modified using stone tools, appear to have been part of a framework for a structure, a conclusion that contradicts the notion humans at that time simply roamed the landscape hunting and gathering resources. "Not only did the working of trees require considerable skill, the right tools and planning, the effort involved suggests that the makers were staying in the location for extended periods whereas we have always had a model of Stone Age people as nomadic," Barham added.
Archaeologists said on Wednesday they have unearthed the oldest wooden structure ever discovered, dating from nearly half a million years ago, which suggests that our ancestors may have been more advanced than previously thought.Larry Barham, an archaeologist at the UK's University of Liverpool and the study's lead author, told AFP that to his knowledge the previous record-holder for oldest wooden structure dated back around 9,000 years.