As wood floor pros well know, water is the sworn enemy of wood. And yet the high water levels at an archaeological site in Zambia are what’s credited with preserving a wooden structure believed to date back 476,000 years.
The ancient structure, preserved in clay, consists of two wooden logs that show signs of being purposely cut and crossed together. It is believed to be the oldest known wooden structure in the world, according to research published in Nature.
The wood structure also predates Homo sapiens, which are believed to have evolved around 300,000 years ago, according to New Atlas.
“This find has changed how I think about our early ancestors,” stated Larry Barham, researcher from the University of Liverpool. “Forget the label ‘Stone Age,’ look at what these people were doing: they made something new, and large, from wood. They used their intelligence, imagination, and skills to create something they’d never seen before, something that had never previously existed.”
University of Liverpool
