Woodworkers in Africa: 500,000 Years Ago

[Pat Germain]

Archeologists recently found wood beams in Zambia preserved in soil from around 500,000 years ago. To their surprise, the beams had notches crafted to make them fit together. No kidding, this is real. Pretty amazing stuff:

https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/20/africa/oldest-wooden-structure-zambia-scn/index.html

[Edward Weber]

I read that yesterday, very cool. Also just shows how much we don't know

[Jimmy Harris]

I don't know if that qualifies as a woodworker. Two things fitting together? Let me read the article...

Oh wow! They found a large collection of tools there as well! Yup! That's proof of a legit woodworker! Crazy!

[Pat Germain]

I'm confident if they keep digging they'll find a very early Grizzly 8" jointer.

[roger wiegand]

It's also about 200,000 years prior to the known appearance of Homo sapiens! So it was probably people from a different, earlier, Homo genus doing the work. Or, H. sap appeared earlier than we thought.

[Pat Germain]

It's also about 200,000 years prior to the known appearance of Homo sapiens! So it was probably people from a different, earlier, Homo genus doing the work. Or, H. sap appeared earlier than we thought.

As I recall that was mentioned in the article. Nobody thought the people of that era were sophisticated enough to make such tools and to do "woodworking".

[Edward Weber]

This well was the oldest, the new discovery blows it away by millennia
https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/04/europe/wooden-well-oldest-czech-republic-scli-intl-scn/index.html

[Michael Burnside]

Just think what the could have done with pocket screws! :D

Cool article. Thanks for sharing.

[Bill Dufour]

Blows away my earlier mention of Egyptian wood working examples.
Bill D

[Andrew Hughes]

I don’t believe it.
Wood doesn’t last that long maybe 5k no way 500k.
The comment about human species not able to craft stuff. Why would they say that because they didn’t go to college?
Humans are gifted with the ability to craft and defend themselves. Early man would be making spears.
Scientist will say anything to get funding

[Pat Germain]

And there's the skeptic. Please read the article. It explains how the wood survived. The people who crafted those wooden beams pre-dated homosapians. Nobody had ever found any evidence of such skills going back that far. The scientists were already funded to do that dig. And no, real scientists don't say anything to get funding.

[Andrew Hughes]

And there's the skeptic. Please read the article. It explains how the wood survived. The people who crafted those wooden beams pre-dated homosapians. Nobody had ever found any evidence of such skills going back that far. The scientists were already funded to do that dig. And no, real scientists don't say anything to get funding.
I did read the article, just because it’s written doesn’t make it true.
I don’t believe wood fibers can hold together in any kind of shape that long no way. It’s natural and meant to decompose.
The only thing that could possibly last that long is a bag full of cheese burgers from Mc Donalds. :)

[Jim Morgan]

Ever been to the petrified forest? Probably something similar here - the wood was mineralized, so what remains is no longer organic. Nevertheless, the shapes as the wood once was have been preserved.

And I will echo: no real scientists don't "say anything" to get funded. After all, if they did, who would believe them enough to invest in them?

[Christopher Charles]

As a practicing scientist who asks for money often, I can affirm Jim’s statement. There are rare exceptions but I have seen folks go down in flames for trying to spin things.

Best,
Chris

[Bill Dufour]

After close examination of the wood I know what kind it is/was.


It is old growth lumber.

Grandpa caveman probably complained that the wood was too young and back in his day the wood was better and easier to work.
Bill D

[Edward Weber]

Regarding the wood, wood decays from exposure to oxygen. As an example, there is ancient Kauri. This wood is salvaged from bogs/swamps and is on average 30k -50k years old. It is not petrified and can be worked as normal.
Here is one of many articles (believe it or not:rolleyes:)
https://woodstockap.com/product-category/live-edge-wood-slabs/ancient-kauri-wood/

[Jimmy Harris]

What's crazy is that this, if correct, predates Neanderthals. Which, with a larger brain, there are many scientists who believe that Neanderthals were actually smarter than modern day humans. But this date would put that wood in period of Homo heidelbergensis and Homo erectus, both of which had significantly smaller brains than either us or Neanderthals.

[Edward Weber]

What's crazy is that this, if correct, predates Neanderthals. Which, with a larger brain, there are many scientists who believe that Neanderthals were actually smarter than modern day humans. But this date would put that wood in period of Homo heidelbergensis and Homo erectus, both of which had significantly smaller brains than either us or Neanderthals.
So what you're saying is, all you need is a small brain to be a woodworker :D

Come to think of it, I have seen evidence of this from time to time in YouTube videos, maybe there is a genealogical connection.

[Mark Gibney]

Also, the article explains the method used to date the pieces found.

[Mick Simon]

I think I have a few abandoned woodworking projects that predate this discovery.

[Tom Bender]

The article mentions tools found with the beams. If they could imagine and make tools, notching a couple of logs doesn't seem like a big leap.

[George Yetka]

Just finished Sphere by Michael Crichton. One of the lines paraphrased was "Imagination is what advances us over the rest of the species on the planet, not the use of tools" But if this article is correct that is pretty amazing.

[Edward Weber]

There is a fine, almost non existant line, between imagination for creative invention and problem solving invention out of necessity. I'm not sure one can exist without the other,, at least to some small degree.