Ancient Greece Reveals 430,000-Year-Old Handheld Wooden Tools

Researchers at Marathousa 1 in Greece have identified the oldest known handheld wooden tools, dated to about 430,000 years ago. The finds include two wood fragments showing shaping and use—a digging stick likely used near the lakeshore and a small finger-held tool—made from alder and willow/poplar. A third alder fragment bears deep claw marks from a bear, indicating co-occurrence with large predators. Preserved by waterlogged sediments, the tools demonstrate careful material choice and suggest early humans exploited local wetland resources, pushing back the record for wooden artifacts in southeastern Europe by at least 40,000 years.