Archaeologists find the oldest wooden tools in Greece, believed to be 430 thousand years old

The tools were found in the Megalopolis Basin of Greece, a low-lying valley in Greece Southern Greece Peloponnese Peninsula.

Published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in late January, the study estimates that the tools could be about 430,000 years old, although the exact age is unknown.

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The tools “represent the oldest portable wooden tools and include a new type of tool,” according to a study summary obtained by Fox News Digital.

The findings also “demonstrate the importance of systematic research into early wood remains,” the summary also said.

Wooden tools found in the Megalopolis Basin in Greece may date back approximately 430,000 years, making them the oldest of their kind, archaeologists say. (Katerina Harvati, Dimitris Michelidis via AP; Prisma/UIG/Getty Images)

The area where the tools were found was covered by wetlands and lakes hundreds of thousands of years ago.

One of them – the stick – is about 2 feet long. It was likely used to dig into clay, while the other is a small hand-held piece of wood that may have been used to shape stone tools.

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Because wood rots very quickly, few ancient tools of this type survive.

The recently found tools were covered in sediment and preserved in the surrounding humid environment.

Researchers believe that a small hand-held piece of wood may have been used to help shape stone tools thousands of centuries ago. (Katerina Harvati, Dimitris Michaelidis via AP)

Modern humans did not exist at the time, leading scientists to believe that these tools may have been used by Neanderthals or other early human ancestors.

Anneke Melkes, an archaeologist at the University of Reading and author of the study, said she was “very happy to be able to touch these objects.”

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Another archaeologist was cautious about the discovery.

Archaeologists say one of the wooden tools, about two and a half feet long, was likely used for digging in muddy, wet ground. (Katerina Harvati, Dimitris Michaelidis via AP)

Jarrod Hutson Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History He told the Associated Press that the purposes of the tools remain unclear.

“It’s hard to get excited about these things because they don’t hit you right away like wooden instruments,” cautioned Hutson, who was not involved in the study.

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“We don’t know what it was used for.”

This artifact joins other prehistoric discoveries that have surprised archaeologists in recent months.

Scientists indicate that these tools may have been used by Neanderthals or other early human ancestors before the existence of modern humans. (World History Archive/World Image Collection via Getty Images)

Last month, archaeologists announced Discover cave art It dates back to about 68 thousand years ago in a cave on a tropical island in central Indonesia.

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Researchers have also recently identified the oldest known species poisoned arrowheads, Their age is estimated at about 60 thousand years.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.