British and African archaeologists have discovered evidence of the oldest man-made structure in the world. It was built by an extinct species of man 500,000 years ago and is found in Africa.
It is built of manufactured timber, likely as an elevated passage over marshy ground – or as a raised platform in the middle of a watery area, perhaps as a hunting lodge. Or as a butcher’s den.
The structure was found in waterlogged land in northern Zambia, and is at least twice as old as any other man-made structure.
The discovery is likely to change the way archaeologists think about the evolution of early human technology and cognitive abilities.
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The raised wooden causeway or platform on the south bank of the Kalambu River was only a small part of human presence even before the known history of human presence.
It meets two of the world’s most spectacular natural wonders—a 235-meter-high waterfall and a 300-meter-deep gorge—just a few hundred meters above.
Early hunter-gatherers are likely to have been indirectly attracted to the area by the waterfall and the unusually diverse local landforms, and included the world’s first architectural ‘engineers’ and the Turkhans.
Upstream of the falls is a large and fertile floodplain that may have been the main river along with marshy land, small lakes, small waterways and riparian forests. A forested area will consist of hill slopes bordering the floodplain with other tree species.
But downstream, the river passes through an impressive three-mile-long gorge, with its own rainforest, partially grown by the waterfall’s evaporation. And just three miles further on, the river empties into Lake Tanganyika, one of Africa’s great lakes, which is particularly teeming with fish and attracts large herds of animals.
Each of these environments would have attracted different types of animals and there would have been an abundance of different plants, fruits and vegetables. Because of all these, early humans must have been attracted to them.
Archaeologists have so far found two parts of the wooden structure: a 1.4-meter-long section of a tree trunk and a tree trunk, both of which were modified by carpenters from before known history.
After being felled, the trunk of the tree was shaped in such a way that both ends became thinner.
Later, a 13 cm U-shaped mark was made on its tip. Later it was placed horizontally on top of the carved trunk of the tree. It was trimmed so that the top 20 cm would sit comfortably in the U-shaped notch of the tree trunk that had been cut horizontally.
By placing the tree trunk in this way, the top of the stump was effectively ‘locked’ ensuring that the trackway or platform remained about 20cm above the bog.
Apart from this, there was also a large piece of wood dating back to about 500,000 years ago, which was found just a few meters away. It was probably used to split the wood.
Archaeologists have also discovered a variety of cutting, chopping and scraping tools, all made of stone, including a possible cooking stove.
Those living there Humans from before known history Homo hydel bergensis (A man from Heidelberg) belonged to a genus which is now extinct. It was a generation that until then Africawhich inhabited much of Western Asia and Europe and flourished between six and three hundred thousand years ago.
This 1.4 meter long tree was carved five hundred thousand years ago (Deep Roots of Humanity research project and University of Liverpool).
However, around 3,000 years ago, the Heidelbergensis became extinct, possibly due to competition with newer, more advanced human species, namely the Neanderthals and us (Homo sapiens).
The archaeological investigation was carried out over the past four years by archaeologists and other scientists based in the UK, Belgium and Zambia from the universities of Liverpool, Aberystwyth, Royal Holloway and Liege, and the National Museums Board of Zambia and the country’s National Heritage Conservation Commission. I have been
The scientific journal Nature published an academic report on the project on Wednesday.
Professor Larry Braham, project director from the University of Liverpool’s Department of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology, heads the international ‘Deep Roots of Humanity’ research project, which includes investigations into the Colombo Falls area.
1.4 meter long wooden sketch (Deep Roots of Humanity research project and University of Liverpool)
“This discovery is helping to change the way we think about a long-extinct species of humans,” he says.
The dates of these discoveries were determined by experts from Aberystwyth University. They used luminescence dating techniques, which show when the minerals in the sand around the finds were last exposed to sunlight, to determine their age.
Professor Geoff Diller, from Aberystwyth University, said: ‘After such a long period of time, it is very difficult to date discoveries. With the help of luminescence dating we can go back in time, connecting such places we can get a glimpse of human evolution.’
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