Ancient Wooden Artifacts Attributed to Denisovans Found in China, Dating Back 300,000 Years
In a groundbreaking archaeological find, a collection of 300,000-year-old wooden tools has been unearthed at a lakeside site called Gantangqing in southwest China. The discovery, published in the journal Science, provides compelling evidence of early hominins in Paleolithic East Asia using sophisticated wooden implements primarily for plant-based foraging.
The tools, which include large digging sticks and smaller, hook-like implements for slicing through plant roots, were manufactured between 361,000 and 250,000 years ago, as determined by cutting-edge dating methods. The most likely makers of these tools are believed to be Denisovans, a hominin species found in various locations in East Asia, including the Tibetan Plateau, Penghu in Taiwan, and Laos.
The Gantangqing assemblage suggests strategic utilization of lakeshore food resources by early hominins. The site yielded well-preserved wooden implements alongside stone tools, animal and plant fossils, providing evidence for early hominin use of plants and the makers of the ancient wooden tools. The tools show signs of intentional shaping such as whittling, smoothing, and wear consistent with use, strongly indicating early humans engaged in sophisticated woodworking to harvest underground plant foods in a subtropical environment.
The significance of this find in understanding Paleolithic East Asia is profound. It is the earliest evidence of complex wooden tool technology in East Asia, pushing back the timeline of such sophisticated behavior outside Africa and western Eurasia. The discovery challenges previous assumptions that early East Asian hominins were technologically conservative or less innovative, instead showing they had skilled craftsmanship and planned tool use for plant harvesting.
The find highlights a unique niche adaptation to subtropical environments in East Asia, complementing and contrasting the hunting-focused strategies documented in Europe and Africa during the same period. It provides empirical support for the longstanding “bamboo and wooden tools hypothesis,” suggesting organic materials played a major role in early human toolkits but rarely survive archaeologically due to decomposition, making this discovery exceptionally rare.
In summary, these 300,000-year-old wooden tools from Gantangqing reveal that early hominins in Paleolithic East Asia used sophisticated wooden implements primarily for plant-based foraging, reflecting advanced woodworking skills and ecological adaptation previously undocumented in this region. The study about the discovery was authored by Professor Bo Li, offering valuable insights into early human technological and subsistence diversity.
- The study of the Gantangqing assemblage, which includes the 300,000-year-old wooden tools, falls under the realm of environmental-science and archaeology.
- The discovery of these ancient wooden tools provides evidence for the early use of technology in Paleolithic East Asia, adding to our understanding of human evolution and technological development.
- Ongoing research into the Gantangqing site could lead to further insights into the educational and self-development strategies of early hominins, particularly their ability to adapt to subtropical environments.
- The findings from the Gantangqing site challenge traditional notions of early human culture in East Asia, suggesting a more complex and innovative society than previously thought.
- The advancements in technology displayed by the Gantangqing tools, such as the intentional shaping and use of wood, highlight the significant role of science and technology in human evolution and environmental interaction.
