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The Independent
a day ago
- Science
- The Independent
Rare 300,000-year-old wooden tools found in China reveal diet secrets of early humans
A trove of rare 300,000-year-old wooden tools unearthed in south-west China reveals that early humans in the region may have relied heavily on underground plants like roots and tubers for sustenance. The findings, published on Thursday in the journal Science, throw light on the advanced cognitive skills of early human ancestors in East Asia and their lives, diet, and environment. This rare find was made due to the wooden tools being preserved in oxygen-deprived clay sediments at the archaeological lakeshore site of Gantangqing in Jiangchuan, Yunnan province. Researchers also found nearly 1,000 organic remains among the sediments. Using advanced techniques, scientists dated the uncovered remains to establish the age of the tools between 250,000-350,000 years old. The 'extremely rare' wooden tools, which appear in varieties of forms and functions, were extracted from layers dating to around 300,000 years old, scientists say. Until now, only two previously known discoveries have been made of wooden tools from this period – one in Europe and one in Africa. Two of the newly uncovered sticks appeared similar to those found at Italy's Poggetti Vecchi site, dating to 171,000 years old. Four unique hook-shaped tools were also uncovered and were likely used for cutting roots, scientists say. Researchers also found signs of deliberate polishing on the wooden tools, scraping marks and soil residues on the tool edges, indicating they were used for digging underground plants such as tubers and roots. 'The wooden implements include digging sticks and small, complete, hand-held pointed tools,' scientists wrote. Based on these findings, scientists suspect these East Asian human ancestors likely followed a plant-based diet, with evidence of pine nuts, hazelnuts, kiwi fruit and aquatic tubers found at the site. In comparison, the wooden tools uncovered in Europe and Africa were hunting implements, spears, and spear tips. 'The discovery challenges previous assumptions about early human adaptation. While contemporary European sites (like Schöningen in Germany) focused on hunting large mammals, Gantangqing reveals a unique plant-based survival strategy in the subtropics,' said archaeologist Bo Li, a co-author of the study. 'The diversity and sophistication of the wooden tools also fill a significant gap in the archaeological record, as pre-100,000-year-old wooden tools are extremely rare outside Africa and Western Eurasia,' Dr Li said. The discovery reveals that wooden tools were in use by early humans living in a much wider range across the globe. It also suggests that prehistoric cultures living in different environments developed tools useful to them locally.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Rare wooden tools from Stone Age China reveal plant-based lifestyle of ancient lakeside humans
Ancient wooden tools found at a site in Gantangqing in southwestern China are approximately 300,000 years old, new dating has shown. Discovered during excavations carried out in 2014–15 and 2018–19, the tools have now been dated by a team of archaeologists, geologists, chronologists (including me) and paleontologists. The rare wooden tools were found alongside an assortment of animal and plant fossils and stone artifacts. Taken together, the finds suggest the early humans at Gantangqing were surprisingly sophisticated woodworkers who lived in a rich tropical or subtropical environment where they subsisted by harvesting plants from a nearby lake. Wood usually decomposes relatively rapidly due to microbial activity, oxidation, and weathering. Unlike stone or bone, it rarely survives more than a few centuries. Wood can only survive for thousands of years or longer if it ends up buried in unusual conditions. Wood can last a long time in oxygen-free environments or extremely dry areas. Charred or fire-hardened wood is also more durable. At Gantangqing, the wooden objects were excavated from low-oxygen clay-heavy layers of sediment formed on the ancient shoreline of Fuxian Lake. Wooden implements are extremely rare from the Early Palaeolithic period (the first part of the 'stone age' from around 3.3 million years ago until 300,000 years ago or so, in which our hominin ancestors first began to use tools). Indeed, wooden tools more than even 50,000 years old are virtually absent outside Africa and western Eurasia. As a result, we may have a skewed understanding of Palaeolithic cultures. We may overemphasise the role of stone tools, for example, because they are what has survived. The new excavations at Gantangqing found 35 wooden specimens identified as artificially modified tools. These tools were primarily manufactured from pine wood, with a minority crafted from hardwoods. Some of the tools had rounded ends, while others had chisel-like thin blades or ridged blades. Of the 35 tools, 32 show marks of intentional modification at their tips, working edges, or bases. Two large digging implements were identified as heavy-duty digging sticks designed for two-handed use. These are unique forms of digging implements not documented elsewhere, suggesting localised functional adaptations. There were also four distinct hook-shaped tools — likely used for cutting roots — and a series of smaller tools for one-handed use. Nineteen of the tools showed microscopic traces of scraping from shaping or use, while 17 exhibit deliberately polished surfaces. We also identified further evidence of intensive use, including soil residues stuck to tool tips, parallel grooves or streaks along working edges, and characteristic fracture wear patterns. The tools from Gantangqing are more complete and show a wider range of functions than those found at contemporary sites such as Clacton in the UK and Florisbad in South Africa. The team used several techniques to figure out the age of the wooden tools. There is no way to determine their age directly, but we can date the sediment in which they were found. Using a technique called infrared stimulated luminescence, we analysed more than 10,000 individual grains of minerals from different layers. This showed the sediment was deposited roughly between 350,000 and 200,000 years ago. We also used different techniques to date a mammal tooth found in one of the layers to roughly 288,000 years old. This was consistent with the mineral results. Next we used mathematical modelling to bring all the dating results together. Our model indicated that the layers containing stone tools and wooden implements date from 360–300,000 years ago to 290–250,000 years ago. Our research indicates the ancient humans at Gantangqing inhabited a warm, humid, tropical or subtropical environment. Pollen extracted from the sediments reveals 40 plant families that confirm this climate. Plant fossils further verify the presence of subtropical-to-tropical flora dominated by trees, lianas, shrubs and herbs. Wet-environment plants show the local surroundings were a lakeside or wetlands. Animal fossils also fit this picture, including rhinoceros and other mammals, turtles and various birds. The ecosystem was likely a mosaic of grassland, thickets and forests. Evidence of diving ducks confirms the lake must have been at least 2–3 metres deep during human occupation. The site contained evidence of plants such as storable pine nuts and hazelnuts, fruit trees such as kiwi, raspberry-like berries, grapes, edible herbs and fern fronds. There were also aquatic plants that would have provided edible leaves, seeds, tubers and rhizomes. These were likely dug up from shallow mud near the shore, using wooden tools. These findings suggest the Gantangqing hominins may have made expeditions to the lake shore, carrying purpose-made wooden digging sticks to harvest underground food sources. To do this, they would have had to anticipate seasonal plant distributions, know exactly what parts of different plants were edible, and produce specialised tools for different tasks. The wooden implements from Gantangqing represent the earliest known evidence for the use of digging sticks and for the exploitation of underground plant storage organs such as tubers within the Oriental biogeographic realm. Our discovery shows the use of sophisticated wood technology in a very different environmental context from what has been seen at sites of similar age in Europe and Africa. The find significantly expands our understanding of early hominin woodworking capabilities. The hominins who lived at Gantangqing appear to have lived a heavily plant-based subsistence lifestyle. This is in contrast to colder, more northern settings where tools of similar age have been found (such as Schöningen in Germany), where hunting large mammals was the key to survival. The site also shows how important wood – and perhaps other organic materials – were to 'stone age' hominins. These wooden artifacts show far more sophisticated manufacturing skill than the relative rudimentary stone tools found at sites of similar age across East and Southeast Asia. This article is republished from The Conversation. It was written by: Bo Li, University of Wollongong; Jianhui Liu, Yunnan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology; Robin Dennell, University of Sheffield, and Xing Gao, Chinese Academy of Sciences Read more: Queen Hatshepsut's statues were destroyed in ancient Egypt – new study challenges the revenge theory Trump's worldview is causing a global shift of alliances – what does this mean for nations in the middle? Men traded wares – but women traded knowledge: what a new archaeological study tells us about PNG sea trade The excavation, curation, and research of the Gantangqing site were supported by National Cultural Heritage Administration (China), Yunnan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Yuxi Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, Chengjiang Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Projects, Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hong Kong Research Grants Council (RGC), National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC).
