Archaeologists continue to uncover evidence of early human technologies and artistic expressions, but determining their precise timelines remains difficult due to preservation issues and dating limitations. Recent finds, such as 430,000-year-old wooden tools in Greece and a 67,800-year-old hand stencil in Indonesia, push back known dates, yet experts caution against overinterpreting single discoveries. Columnist Michael Marshall examines how these artifacts shape our understanding of human evolution.
In a recent column for New Scientist, Michael Marshall explores the complexities of establishing timelines for human technological and cultural developments. He highlights the discovery of two wooden objects at a site in southern Greece, dated to about 430,000 years old, which are described as the oldest known wooden tools: one appears to be a digging stick, and the other's use is unclear.
These finds surpass previous records slightly, including the Clacton Spear from the UK, estimated at 400,000 years old, and wooden spears from Schöningen, Germany, whose ages have been revised to between 300,000 and 200,000 years. Marshall notes that bone tools also appear early in Europe; a 480,000-year-old elephant bone hammer was found at Boxgrove in the UK. However, bone tools date much further back in east Africa, with systematic production from elephant bone around 1.5 million years ago.
Moving forward in time, archaeologists documented 2,601 stone artifacts at Xigou in central China, ranging from 160,000 to 72,000 years old, including hafted tools—the earliest evidence of composite tools in eastern Asia. In South Africa, five quartzite arrowheads coated with poisonous plant residue, dated to 60,000 years ago, represent the oldest known poisoned arrows, though designs consistent with such use appear earlier.
Art poses even greater challenges. A hand stencil in a Sulawesi cave in Indonesia is at least 67,800 years old, making it the oldest known rock art and surpassing a Neanderthal-attributed stencil in northern Spain. Dating relies on mineral flowstones, providing minimum ages only. Marshall emphasizes that wood and poisons degrade easily, and many cave arts cannot be dated with current methods.
The oldest stone tools, Lomekwian artifacts from Kenya at 3.3 million years old, offer a more robust record due to better preservation. Yet, Marshall warns that scarce samples for wooden tools and undatable art limit reliable timelines, urging systematic investigations for a clearer picture of human evolution.