ANCIENT Wooden Structure Discovered in Africa Changes EVERYTHING #historicaltidbits

#shorts #history #africa #zambia #archeology #oldest #oldbuildings #archaic #human #stoneage Archaeologists discovered a Pleistocene epoch, stone age structure buried beneath a riverbed at Kalambo Falls in Zambia on the continent of Africa. Luminescence dating produced a staggering age of 476,000 years old. In total, five wood pieces were discovered, all more than 300,000 years old. In addition, stone tools were located near the oldest find, the two interlocking logs. The riverbed, because it never dried, actually preserved these wood pieces, which in most cases would have decayed away. This is now the oldest woodwork on the continent of Africa and the oldest human structure ever found. Because of the date of this find, it's unlikely modern humans made this structure, because modern humans aren't thought to have emerged until roughly 300,000 years ago in Northern Africa. So it was likely constructed by archaic humans, proving that Pleistocene era hominins were capable of greater engineering feats than is commonly believed. They figured out how to use the materials that surrounded them and this is among some of the earliest evidence now proving that they had a sense of culture. The logs had clear cut grooves/notches allowing the two pieces of wood to snuggle together like 'Lincoln logs'.

[historicaltidbits]

Archaeologists discovered a Pleistocene epoch, stone age structure buried beneath a riverbed at Kalambo Falls in Zambia on the continent of Africa. Luminescence dating produced a staggering age of 476, 000 years old. In total, five wood pieces were discovered, all more than 300, 000 years old. In addition, stone tools were located near the oldest find, the two interlocking logs. The riverbed, because it never dried, actually preserved these wood pieces, which in most cases would have decayed away. This is now the oldest woodwork on the continent of Africa and the oldest human structure ever found. Because of the date of this find, it's unlikely modern humans made this structure, because modern humans aren't thought to have emerged until roughly 300, 000 years ago in Northern Africa. So it was likely constructed by archaic humans, proving that Pleistocene era hominins were capable of greater engineering feats than is commonly believed. They figured out how to use the materials that surrounded them and this is among some of the earliest evidence now proving that they had a sense of culture. The logs had clear cut grooves/notches allowing the two pieces of wood to snuggle together like 'Lincoln logs'.

[campland]

Lots of speculation here. . . . If it was "worked wood", it could have been some large branches that were exposed that these "workers" brought up and worked on. . .that is, it could be 400+k years old when the "workers" found it (like you found it, only not buried so deep obviously).
It doesn't look "clearly" worked, but it does look burned. If you've ever burned larger diameter slash piles (forestry management projects or wildfire work) you'll see this same type of burn pattern where two logs cross one another, more heat is generated and held, so the coal burns longer, thus considerably deeper at these intersection or contact areas. . .and as you move away from this contact point the heat tapers awya too, thus leaving a tapered appearance just like what you have here.
Some of the "rough marks" or "worked marks", could have been caused by aggragate passing over it from the waterway (moving water and rocks). . . . You didn't provide any substantial evidence of clearly "worked" wood, although some of it def does look curious, and no proof that this was fresh wood cut down and into pieces and then worked by people 400+k years ago.
Carbon dating showed it to be ~50k yo. . . . Luminescence dating (produced ~5x older results?) may not be an accurate tool in this location, with what appears to be substantial clays mixed with heavy (large) grain quartzites and substantial fine grain sands. Also, it looks awfully shallow of a burial (maybe 3'?), and sitting on top of sands, but buried under clays (thats what the excavated wall appears to be).
Was that well-worked and finely honed (very precise flaking and grinding) chopping/axe tool found at the same depth? If so, THAT would be likely the oldest, precision tool ever found! From my understanding, by hundreds of thousands of years!
It seems you may be jumping to conclusions, because you really want this to be something (undertsandably). . .making a potential artifact fit a narrative, as unlikley as this is.
I hope I'm proved wrong. . . .

[georgetarbutton]

Everything is cyclical. We always have been starting over and over. Due to natural or of our own demise.