Embedded in clay and preserved by a high water table, the structure is made from logs from large-fruited willow trees and was intentionally created some 476,000 years ago. say the scientists.
The well-preserved specimen was created before the emergence of Homo sapiens, and archaeologists claim that Homo sapiens exhibits far greater cognitive abilities than previously thought. . ancient ancestors.
The oldest known wooden structure before the discovery in Zambia was announced was only 9,000 years old. The oldest known wooden artifact found in Israel is a fragment of a 780,000-year-old board.
“Find” also suggests a pause in nomadic life.
Larry Barham, an archaeologist at the University of Liverpool in the UK, told AFP news agency that the structure, located above a 235-meter (770-foot) waterfall on the banks of Zambia’s Kalambo River, was discovered by chance in 2019.
Barham was the lead author of a paper outlining the discovery in a scientific journal. Nature.
“The framework may have supported a walkway or platform raised above the seasonally humid surroundings. The platform may have been used for multiple purposes, including storage for firewood, tools, food, and a foundation for placing a hut. may have a purpose,” Barham said.
“Not only did wood processing require considerable skill, appropriate tools, and planning, but the labor involved was not limited to the fact that we, as nomads, had always had the model of Stone Age people, whereas the production This suggests they had been in the area for an extended period of time,” Barham added. .
“This use of wood suggests that the cognitive abilities of these early humans were greater than we believed based on stone tools alone,” Burnham said.
Scientists also discovered a large number of wooden tools at the site around the same time, they say. No human bones have been found.
Homo heidelbergensis was smarter than he looked
Scientist Barham said the structure was “deliberately shaped into two trees to create a framework of two interlocking supports.” They suggested that it was likely created by a species known as .
This species had a larger forehead, larger braincase, and flatter face than earlier hominid species.
Barham told AFP that Homo heidelbergensis fossils have been found in the area before.
The oldest Homo sapiens fossils known to date were discovered in Morocco and are estimated to be approximately 300,000 years old.
The last time a tree saw sunlight was 500,000 years ago.
Wooden artifacts were first unearthed at the site in the 1950s and 1960s, but scientists at the time were unable to determine their exact age.
Archaeologists working on the current specimens used something called luminescence dating, a new technique that determines the age of minerals by measuring the time they were last exposed to sunlight.
Barham said the discovery “changed the way we think about these people. I changed the environment to make it easier.”
“They used their intelligence, imagination, and skill to create something that had never been seen before or existed before.”
A brief history of humanity
What is the difference between humans and animals? What is culture? Did Homo sapiens and Neanderthals coexist at any time in history? A museum in Bonn answers these questions by revisiting 100,000 years of cultural history.
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From molecules to nuclear bombs
Life and death are inseparable. The exhibition “A Brief History of Humankind” at the Bundeskunsthalle Museum in Bonn shows how molecules began to bond together and transform into structured living things 13.8 billion years ago. The video above by American artist Bruce Connor shows what could mean the end of evolution: the nuclear bomb.
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The remains of Eurasia’s oldest hearth, dating back 780,000 years, have been discovered on the banks of the Jordan River. The ability to control fire was a turning point in evolutionary history that lifted humans to the top of the food chain. Fire gave light and warmed people. People cooked with fire and used it to make stone tools. It was a gathering place, a Stone Age television.
general.image.copyright_prefix Israel Museum Jerusalem/E. Posner
Homo sapiens had a short jaw, slanted forehead, and narrow eyebrow line. The skull above is about 100,000 years old and was discovered in Israel, where Homo sapiens coexisted with Neanderthals for quite some time. All of the artifacts on display at the Bonn exhibition are from Israel, and this is the first time they have been exhibited in Europe.
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This Neanderthal skull was excavated in the Amdo Cave in Galilee. Anatomically, it is completely different from the Homo sapiens skull. The chin is even more ephemeral, and a dimple can be seen on the back of the head. Archaeologists have discovered that these early humans not only fulfilled their basic needs, but also practiced burial rituals and other forms of culture.
general.image.copyright_prefix Israel Museum Jerusalem/E. Posner
What makes us human? Family plays a big role. In addition to historical items, works by contemporary artists are also on display. American sculptor Charles Ray’s 1993 “Family Romance” shows the thin lines that connect families. In this sculpture, two parents are holding the hands of their children. However, the normalcy of the nuclear family is disrupted because both son and daughter are as tall as father and mother.
general.image.copyright_prefix R. Charles
Humans began making dolls depicting their gods about 8,000 years ago, when people were settling, planting fields, and forming communities. They created a goddess to whom they could pray for good harvest and abundance. The phallic shape in the photo above may also symbolize a male deity. Lines and etchings illustrate an abstract portrait.
general.image.copyright_prefix Israel Museum Jerusalem/E. Posner
Unlike animals, humans can collect and write down knowledge. The Sumerians of southern Mesopotamia began recording information and numbers. This clay tablet was inscribed between 4,000 BC and 3,100 BC, paving the way for the complex memory systems necessary for the construction of cities and empires.
general.image.copyright_prefix Israel Museum Jerusalem/E. Posner
Made from electrum, an alloy of gold and silver, this coin is the world’s oldest known coin. The relief depicts a grazing stag and dates from the 7th century BC. Of course, other forms of payment already existed, such as shells, pearls, and promissory notes.
general.image.copyright_prefix Israel Museum Jerusalem/Y. Hovav
In the 3rd century BC, Arad was a thriving business center at the crossroads of two trade routes in the Middle East. For 350 years, it was a magnificent city filled with palaces, temples, and houses. The model above shows his one-room dwelling, a typical square with a flat roof, dating between 3,000 and 2,650 BC.
general.image.copyright_prefix Israel Museum Jerusalem/A. Hay
In 1912, Albert Einstein developed the theory of relativity, which was a sensation and a scientific revolution. The Israel Museum in Jerusalem owns the original copy of E=mc². This formula embodies two aspects of progress. This formula not only gave humanity important insights into physics, but also made it possible to build the first nuclear bomb.
general.image.copyright_prefix Israel Museum Jerusalem/A. Avitar
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js/msh (AFP, Reuters)
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