The artifacts were found in low-oxygen clay and represent the oldest wooden tools ever discovered in East Asia.
Liu et al. 2025 A total of thirty-five wooden tools were found in a soil layer dating back up to 300,000 years.
Archaeologists working at the Paleolithic site of Gantanqing in southern China have discovered a unique collection of tools that are up to 300,000 years old. They are the oldest wooden tools ever found in East Asia.
Wooden tools have been used by hominins for over a million years and have contributed significantly to our evolutionary development, but because wood is an organic material, primitive examples rarely survive into modern times. Paleolithic wooden tools have only been discovered twice before – once in Europe and once in Africa – and in both cases they were hunting tools such as spears.
However, the prehistoric tools from Gantantzin appear to have had a different purpose. Based on early observations, they appear to have been used to gather and process plants, illustrating the varied uses of wooden tools throughout history and providing insight into how different cultures adapted to their environments.
Unique Collection of Wooden Tools from Prehistoric China
Liu et al. 2025. Evidence of planing on wooden tools indicating intentional manufacture.
In total, archaeologists at Gantanqing found 35 wooden tools in soil layers dating back between 250,000 and 300,000 years. Researchers from the Yunnan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology suggest that these artifacts were likely made and used to gather plants. Given the surrounding wetlands, starchy foods were plentiful, and these tools suggest that whatever hominin group lived in the area knew what plants to gather and what tools were best for the task.
The discovery was presented in a study published in the journal Science, where the researchers noted the “sophistication” of these prehistoric wooden tools, especially when compared to more primitive stone tools from the same period.
However, the tools do not paint a completely clear picture. Some of them resemble tools found at Neanderthal sites in Europe: large, two-handed digging tools – essentially rudimentary shovels. But other large digging tools found nearby bear no resemblance to other prehistoric tools.
Several hook-shaped tools appear to have been sharpened and were likely used to cut roots. Together, these two types of tools indicate a likely process: digging the soil with a large tool, then cutting the roots with a smaller hook.
The third type of tool found has a less obvious purpose. The carved tools, with rounded edges and sharp tips, are between five and three centimeters long and too small for any practical excavation. The researchers speculate that they may have been awls or other specialized tools for separating tangled roots.
“The complexity of many of these tools makes them more interesting when compared to the apparent 'primitiveness' of Early Palaeolithic stone tools in East Asia,” the researchers note. “This discovery suggests that wooden tools may have played an important role in hominin survival and adaptation during the Middle Pleistocene of East Asia.”
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