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In a groundbreaking discovery, archaeologists have identified what might be the oldest wooden tools ever found, believed to be several hundred thousand years old, as revealed in a recent study.
These ancient tools were unearthed in the Megalopolis basin, a low-lying landscape located on the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece.
The study, which appeared in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in late January, suggests that these tools could date back approximately 430,000 years, though the precise age remains uncertain.
According to an abstract of the study shared with Fox News Digital, these artifacts are described as “the earliest handheld wooden tools” and include a previously unknown type of tool.
The study’s abstract further highlights that these discoveries underscore the critical importance of conducting systematic investigations of early wooden artifacts.
The area where the tools were found was covered by wetlands and lakes hundreds of thousands of years ago.
One of them — a stick — measures around 2.5 feet long. It was likely used for digging in mud, while the other is a small handheld chunk of wood that may have been used to shape stone tools.
Because wood rots very quickly, few ancient tools of this type survive.
The recently found tools were covered in sediment and preserved by the surrounding wet environment.
Modern humans didn’t exist back then — leading scientists to believe the tools may have been used by Neanderthals or other early human ancestors.
Annemieke Milks, an archaeologist at the University of Reading and author of the study, said she was “thrilled to be able to touch these objects.”
Another archaeologist was cautious about the find.
Jarod Hutson, of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, told The Associated Press the tools’ purposes remain unclear.
“It’s difficult to get excited about these because they don’t strike you immediately as wooden tools,” cautioned Hutson, who was not involved in the study.
He added, “We don’t know what they were used for.”
The artifact joins other prehistoric finds that have surprised archaeologists in recent months.
Last month, archaeologists announced the discovery of cave art dating back about 68,000 years, found in a cave on a tropical island in central Indonesia.
Researchers also recently identified the oldest-known poisoned arrowheads, estimating that they are roughly 60,000 years old.
The Associated Press contributed reporting.