Ancient Mystery Unearthed: 300,000-Year-Old Wooden Tools Found Intact Beneath Chinese Clay
So, picture this: buried deep in the muck of southern China, 35 wooden tools have been lying in wait for a whopping 300,000 years — yeah, you read that right. These aren’t just any old sticks; they’re the oldest wooden tools ever uncovered in East Asia, perfectly preserved in low-oxygen clay. Now, here’s the kicker — they weren’t hunting spears like the Paleolithic wooden tools found in Europe and Africa, but rather nifty gadgets for digging up and slicing roots in lush wetlands. Who crafted these ancient plant processors? That’s the million-dollar question — were they the handiwork of Homo erectus, Denisovans, or Homo heidelbergensis? Whoever they were, their woodworking skills were nothing short of sophisticated, putting many stone tools of the time to shame. It’s mind-blowing to think about how these early hominins adapted to their environment with such clever gear, all silently whispering tales from 300,000 years ago. Wanna dive deeper? LEARN MORE.
The artifacts were preserved in low-oxygen clay and are the oldest wooden tools ever found in East Asia.
Liu et al. 2025Thirty-five wooden implements were discovered in a soil layer dating back up to 300,000 years.
Archaeologists working at the Paleolithic site of Gantangqing in southern China have discovered a rare collection of tools dating back up to 300,000 years. These are the oldest wooden implements ever found in East Asia.
Wooden tools have been used by hominins for more than a million years and greatly contributed to our evolution as a species, but because wood is an organic material, primitive examples rarely survive to the modern day. Previously, Paleolithic wooden tools had been discovered just twice before — once in Europe and once in Africa — and both times they were hunting implements, like spears.
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