For decades, many people thought that ancient people relied mostly on stone. New wood finds from early human settlements at Kalambo Falls in Zambia suggest that this view may need to be revised. Researchers have discovered wooden structures dating back about 476,000 years, and they don’t look like random sticks thrown together. Instead, they appear to have been carefully constructed and assembled, perhaps forming a platform or shelter base. This type of woodworking goes far beyond what was expected from people who lived so long ago.

Shortly after this discovery, Professor Larry Barham from the University of Liverpool and his team identified a wedge, a digging stick, a log cut with tools and a deliberately cut branch. These artifacts were preserved due to the waterlogged conditions of Kalambo Falls. Creators lived long before they appeared homo sapiens and maybe it was Homo heidelbergensis or a related species.

First humans and the “wood age”

Most of the information about early humans comes from stone artifacts because stone has survived through the ages. Wood usually decomposes without leaving a trace. Until now, evidence for early human use of wood or woodworking tools has been limited to fire, digging sticks, or spears. Kalambo Falls findings add a new dimension. They show that some early hominins understood how to shape and join logs. It changes what we know about their talents and creativity.

“This discovery has transformed my understanding of our earliest ancestors. Forget the ‘Stone Age’ label, look at what these people did: they made something new and great out of wood,” enthused Professor Barham. “They used their intelligence, imagination and skill to create something they had never seen before, something that had never existed before.”

How to date antique wood?

Trees that are almost half a million years old are rare. The team needed methods other than traditional approaches to verify age.

“Dating artefacts from such a large age is very difficult and that’s why we used luminescence dating. These new dating methods have far-reaching implications; they allow us to go much further into the past, bringing together sites that give us a glimpse into human evolution,” explains Aberystwyth. Professor Geoff Dallaire from the University. “The Kalambo Falls site was excavated in the 1960s with similar wood fragments being found, but it was not possible to date them, so the true significance of the site was still unclear.”

These dating methods show that the wooden structures belong to a distant period. By placing these artifacts at precisely the right time, the team can see how early humans chose materials, planned projects, and adapted to their environments long before modern humans arrived.

Why does any of this matter?

Some earlier views envisioned a continuous movement from simple to complex. They suggested that early hominins were not that resourceful. The discovery of Kalambo Falls challenges this idea. Here are the ancient people who did not collect everything around. They consciously shaped the wood and turned it into something with structure. It involves planning and thinking ahead.

The focus is not only on the tools they use but also on the final product. They took logs and shaped them into shapes, which required an understanding of the properties of the material. They realized that certain pieces of wood cut and put together could form solid surfaces or supports. This level of planning and action occurred much earlier than many thought possible.

The “Stone Age” label is no longer valid

Calling this period the “Stone Age” may have mistakenly underestimated the importance of other materials. The reason stone dominates our understanding of prehistory is because of its permanence. The wood is rotting, leaving open questions about what was once normal. Wood can only survive for thousands of centuries under special conditions, such as Kalambo Falls.

This site makes it clear that old labels may need to be revised. Early humans probably used a wide variety of materials to make ends meet. Perhaps many wooden inventions were lost because they fell into disrepair over time. We can now see, with direct evidence, that early hominids relied on more than just stone. They used wood to make tools, platforms, and other things that shaped their world.

How early people worked with wood

Wood is not as durable as stone, but it has its advantages. It can be given a variety of forms and is easier to process. For these ancient builders, wood was a common resource. They knew what pieces to cut, how to cut branches, and how to create useful items. This information points to an ancient tradition in which wood was not used only for simple objects. Their approach to wood may have influenced the way they hunted, gathered food, and built homes. Kalambo Waterfalls finds important events that are often unseen, locked away in time immemorial.

Wood, tools and early human history

Ultimately, this new research shows us that human technology and culture are not just moving down a narrow path. People were finding ways to solve problems long before anyone thought it was possible. The wooden structure of Kalambo Waterfall encourages us to think more flexibly about human capabilities. Even when the brain was smaller and modern humans had not yet emerged, early hominins were smart enough to shape their environment to suit their needs.

This single discovery does not rewrite the entire story, but adds details that help complete the story. Early humans did more than carve rocks; They worked with things around them, especially wood, to create something purposeful and durable. In a world where these distant ancestors are often underestimated, the discovery of Kalambo Falls proves that they deserve more respect than we once gave them. The full text of the research was published in the journal Nature.