Complex tools from 300,000-year-old deposit at Schöningen in Germany point to a “wood age”
About 300,000 years ago, bands of early hominins visited the shores of an ancient lake to hunt, sometimes dropping tools and weapons in the shallow water and mud.
Excavations at Schöningen 13 ended in 2008, although research continues nearby. While the spears drew most of the attention, the rest of the wood collected spent decades awaiting analysis, soaking in refrigerated tubs of distilled water to replicate the cold, water-logged soil that preserved it for 300,000 years.
Another 35 pieces were domestic tools: digging sticks, pointed tools for piercing or working hides, and shafts that likely served as handles for axes or stone blades. Together, the wooden artifacts reveal a domestic side of Neanderthal life that stone tools rarely capture. “We can get overly fixated on the drama of hunting,” says Lawrence Barham, an archaeologist at the University of Liverpool who was not part of the research team.
Signs of breakage and subsequent carving indicate some broken tools were recycled—whittled and polished into smaller implements. “They’re splitting spears or throwing sticks to make tools for other tasks,” Milks says.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Refurbished Sonos Era 300 speakers are $90 off in a rare dealMariella Moon has been a night editor for Engadget since 2013, covering everything from consumer technology and video games to strange little robots that could operate on the human body from the inside one day. She has a special affinity for space, its technologies and its mysteries, though, and has interviewed astronauts for Engadget.
Read more »
12 Electric Vehicles With 300+ Miles Of RangePeople who own electric vehicles or follow EV news know the EPA and WLTP range tests might not be all that representative of real-world driving range.
Read more »
On its first day, this new shop sold out of 300 bagels in half an hourRich Spirit Bagels is selling plain, salted, poppyseed, salted sesame and everything bagels for $2.50 a pop.
Read more »
Dodge Charger, Chrysler 300 Recalled for Risk of Exploding AirbagOn about 285,000 cars from 2018–2021 model years, the side curtain airbag could rupture, potentially sending metal fragments into the cabin.
Read more »
San Jose housing tower with 300-plus apartments nears final city OKA downtown San Jose housing tower is poised to receive final city approval, a project that also someday might add an office building.
Read more »
'White Supremacy Campaign' of 1898 a stain that will not escape history: expertsAn estimated 300 residents were killed and many businesses destroyed.
Read more »