https://metro.co.uk/2024/05/12/ancient-pieces-wood-prove-ancestors-smarter-thought-20808106/

It is the earliest evidence from anywhere
in the world of the deliberate crafting of
logs to fit together – and much earlier
than previously thought possible.

A research team from the University of
Liverpool and Aberystwyth University
analysed the well-preserved wood at the
archaeological site of Kalambo Falls in
Zambia. It dates back at least 476,000
years, before Homo sapiens – modern
humans – had appeared.

Expert analysis of stone tool cut-marks
on the wood show that early humans shaped
and joined two large logs to make a
structure, probably the foundation of a
platform or part of a dwelling.
...


https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06557-9
Evidence for the earliest structural use
of wood at least 476,000 years ago

Abstract
Wood artefacts rarely survive from the
Early Stone Age since they require
exceptional conditions for preservation;
consequently, we have limited information
about when and how hominins used this basic
raw material. We report here on the
earliest evidence for structural use of
wood in the archaeological record.
Waterlogged deposits at the archaeological
site of Kalambo Falls, Zambia, dated by
luminescence to at least 476 ± 23 kyr ago
(ka), preserved two interlocking logs
joined transversely by an intentionally
cut notch. This construction has no known
parallels in the African or Eurasian
Palaeolithic. The earliest known wood
artefact is a fragment of polished plank
from the Acheulean site of Gesher Benot
Ya’aqov, Israel, more than 780 ka. Wooden
tools for foraging and hunting appear
400 ka in Europe, China and possibly
Africa. At Kalambo we also recovered
four wood tools from 390 ka to 324 ka,
including a wedge, digging stick, cut
log and notched branch. The finds show
an unexpected early diversity of forms
and the capacity to shape tree trunks
into large combined structures. These
new data not only extend the age range
of woodworking in Africa but expand our
understanding of the technical cognition
of early hominins, forcing re-examination
of the use of trees in the history of
technology.

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