Archaeologists have discovered a collection of 35 wooden tools, including drilling sticks and pointed hand tools, at an early Paleolithic site in Gantanquin, southwestern China. These findings indicate that the humans who utilized these tools focused on creating implements for excavation and processing rather than for hunting purposes.
Wooden tools found on the Gangtankin property in China. Image credit: Liu et al. , doi: 10.1126/science.adr8540.
While early humans have crafted wood tools for more than a million years, such artifacts are exceedingly rare in archaeological records, particularly from the early to mid-Pleistocene epochs.
The majority of ancient wooden tools have been uncovered in Africa and Western Eurasia, with notable specimens like spears and throwing rods found in Germany and the UK, alongside structural elements from Zambia and wooden plaques and excavation rods from sites in Israel and Italy.
For years, the Bamboo hypothesis has suggested that early East Asian populations largely depended on bamboo for toolmaking, though there is limited archaeological evidence supporting organic material-based tools in this region.
In a recent study led by Dr. Jian-Hui Liu and colleagues from the Yunnan Cultural Relics and Archaeology Institute, a diverse array of artifacts from the Gantangqing site was analyzed.
Among these were 35 wooden artifacts displaying clear signs of intentional shaping and use, along with indications of wear, suggesting they were deliberately crafted by humans.
These tools, made from pine, included probable hook-like implements used for cutting plant roots, varying from large, double-handed excavation sticks to smaller portable tools.
“In comparison to other prominent prehistoric wooden tool sites in Europe, Gantankin is characterized by a variety of medium-sized hunting equipment as well as a broader scope of handheld tools primarily designed for excavating and processing plants,” the researchers noted.
“The sophistication of these wooden tools emphasizes the significance of organic artifacts in understanding early human behavior, especially in contexts where only stone tools might suggest a more ‘primitive’ technological landscape.”
A study detailing these findings was published today in the journal Science.
____
Jian-Hui Liu et al. 2025. Wooden tools from Gantankin in southwestern China, dating back 300,000 years. Science 389 (6755): 78-83; doi: 10.1126/science.adr8540
Source: www.sci.news
