World’s oldest wooden structure, found in Zambia, predates modern humans

An archaeologists at work during the excavation of a wooden structure at the prehistorical site of Kalambo Falls in Zambia (AFP)

Archaeologists have discovered what is thought to be the world’s oldest known wooden structure near the border of Zambia and Tanzania.

Found along a riverbank in Zambia, the simple structure consists of two interlocking logs of a large-fruited willow tree. One log lies on top of the other and is held in place by a notch in its underside, The Guardian reported.

Marks on the wooden structure show that the logs were carved, chopped and shaped with sharp stone tools. The structure predates modern humans and probably served as a walkway for human ancestors who lived along the Kalambo River nearly half a million years ago.

“When I first saw it, I thought this can’t be real. The wood and the stone suggest a high level of ingenuity, technological skill and planning,” said Professor Larry Barham, an archaeologist at the University of Liverpool.

“It could be part of a walkway or part of a foundation for a platform,” he said. “A platform could be used as a place to store things, to keep firewood or food dry, or it might have been a place to sit and make things. You could put a little shelter on top and sleep there.”

The structure dates back at least 476,000 years, well before the evolution of Homo sapiens, according to a study describing the find in the journal Nature.

The earliest evidence of Homo sapiens is from around 300,000 years ago.

It is possible that the structure was the work of Homo heidelbergensis, thought to have lived in that region between 700,000 to 200,000 years ago.

A collection of wooden tools, including a wedge and a digging stick, were also discovered at the site.

The discovery of the wooden structure "changed how I thought about these people", Barham said.

"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," he said.

"They used their intelligence, imagination and skills to create something they'd never seen before, something that had never previously existed."

This suggests an abstract level of thinking and "probably language", he added.

(With inputs from AFP)