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| The artefacts were preserved thanks to the wetlands in the Kalambo Falls area
The artifact changes the usual idea about the ability of primitive people to work with wood. Well-connected objects show their level of intelligence, imagination and skill.
In Zambia, archaeologists have found unique wooden objects approximately 476 thousand years old. The discovery changes the usual idea of many that primitive man relied on stone in his daily activities, Earth.com writes.
Structures are not like sticks lying randomly on the ground. It can be seen that they were carefully joined together to form a platform or foundation for a dwelling. The level of wood processing goes beyond the knowledge of the skills and abilities of ancient people.
Professor Larry Barham from the University of Liverpool and his team found that ancient man made a wedge, a digging stick, a log cut with tools and a branch with a notch from wood.
All the artifacts were preserved thanks to the wetlands in the Kalambo Falls area, their creators lived long before the appearance of Homo sapiens (intelligent man). They were probably representatives of Homo heidelbergensis (Heidelberg man) or a related species.
Scientists took the basic knowledge of the history of primitive people after studying stone artifacts, because they do not decompose, unlike wooden ones. Evidence of the use of wood products was limited to the extraction of fire, the manufacture of digging sticks or spears.
The findings at Kalambo Falls provide a new understanding of historical processes: early hominids knew how to make and join logs.
"Forget the label 'Stone Age' and look at what these people did: this is something new and big made of wood. Intelligence, imagination and skill are involved," commented Barham.
It is extremely difficult to date these artifacts, the researchers used an unconventional approach — luminescent dating. Professor Geoff Dallaire of Aberystwyth University says excavations in the Kalambo Falls area were carried out in the 1960s, but the age of the finds could not be determined because there was no way to do so.
"Early hominids knew how to cut wood and create useful objects from it. This level of knowledge and approach could influence the style of foraging and the construction of living quarters. Ancient man was intelligent enough to shape the environment according to needs," the article says.
