Oldest wooden tools yet unearthed found in southern Greece
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A pair of artifacts dug out of an ancient lakebed in southern Greece might be the oldest wooden tools ever discovered. The two objects bear signs of shaping and use by early humans some 430,000 years ago. Crafted from alder and either willow or poplar branches, the human-made objects suggest our species used wooden tools at least 40,000 years earlier than previously demonstrated.
The site where the tools were discovered – an open-air butchering area in an ancient wetland – was first identified in 2013.
The international team that made the discovery published a report in the peer-reviewed journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on January 26, 2026.
Oldest wooden tools found in an ice age refuge
One of the objects is shaped from an alder wood trunk, and the researchers think it was used for digging or similar tasks. The other is a smaller piece of either willow or poplar wood prepared for an unknown task, possibly to aid the making of stone tools or other fine work. It is the first example of its type described.
The tools date to 430,000 years before present during the Middle Pleistocene. This geological age lasted from 774,000 to 129,000 years ago, and was marked by long periods of glaciation. Paleoanthropologist Katerina Harvati, an expert in human evolution who co-authored the report, described why this period was critical for our species:
The Middle Pleistocene was a critical phase in human evolution, during which more complex behaviors developed. The earliest reliable evidence of the targeted technological use of plants also dates from this period.
Microscopic markings reveal ancient human handiwork
To expert eyes, these items bore marks indicating that they were crafted carefully for use as tools. Annemieke Milks, an expert on early wooden tools and co-author of the report, said:
We examined all the wooden remains closely, looking at their surfaces under microscopes. We found marks from chopping and carving on two objects – clear signs that early humans had shaped them.
A 3rd wooden object found with the oldest wooden tools – a piece of alderwood marked with grooves – had been clawed by an animal, perhaps a bear. This too is a significant finding, Havarti said:
The fact that large carnivores left their mark near the butchered elephant alongside human activity indicates fierce competition between the two.
Life survived the ice age in secluded havens
The site where the oldest wooden tools were unearthed was ice-free during the advance of glaciers into Europe during the Middle Pleistocene. It was from this and other glacial refugia – geographically isolated regions where life could survive during the harsh ice-age conditions – that life would re-emerge when the glaciers retreated.
The tools were found at Marathousa 1, an ancient site where a river once fed wetlands. It is located on what is now the Peloponnese, a large peninsula in the south of modern Greece. Fine-grained soil in the area provides excellent conditions for preserving wood.
Other evidence of human activity was discovered alongside the tools in the same isolated pocket of land where plant and animal life persisted among the glaciers. Early humans used the site to butcher an elephant and other animals. Chips of rock, finished stone tools and worked bone fragments were also unearthed. These finds expand the known regions where early humans rode out glacial periods, as well as moving back the date for wooden tool use.
We have discovered the oldest wooden tools known to date, as well as the first evidence of this kind from southeastern Europe. This shows once again how exceptionally good the conditions at the Marathousa 1 site are for preservation.
The newly discovered artifacts also demonstrate the wide range of size in tools used during the period, as well as expanding the known uses for them.
Bottom line: The earliest known wooden tools used by early humans have been uncovered in an ancient lakebed in Greece. The hand tools date to 430,000 years ago.
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