These 500,000-Year-Old Wooden Tools Are the Oldest Ever Discovered

Two new studies suggest that early hominins in Europe were crafting bone and wooden tools hundreds of thousands of years ago.

By Luis Prada

February 2, 2026, 8:47am



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Other types of humans were roaming around Europe long before Homo sapiens ever called it home. They improvised tools from whatever the landscape offered, and they did so way, way before scientists previously thought.

Two new studies suggest that early hominins in Europe were crafting bone and wooden tools hundreds of thousands of years earlier than previously believed, pushing back the timeline of technological advancement on the continent.

One study, published in Science Advances, describes a roughly 500,000-year-old hammer made from elephant or mammoth bone. It was discovered at the Boxgrove site in southern England. The tool was likely used for knapping, which is striking stone to shape cutting tools.

It bears evidence of microscopic damage and embedded flint fragments that point to repeated, deliberate use. But another, probably more remarkable study, published in PNAS, documents 430,000-year-old wooden tools from a former lakeshore in southern Greece. This makes them the oldest known wooden tools ever found. Which is pretty remarkable considering that wood degrades much more quickly than stone.

More:
https://www.vice.com/en/article/these-500000-year-old-wooden-tools-are-the-oldest-ever-discovered/