Evidence for the earliest hominin use of wooden handheld tools found at Marathousa 1 (Greece)

Abstract

The Middle Pleistocene (MP; ca. 774 to 129 ka) marks a critical period of human evolution, characterized by increasing behavioral complexity and the first unambiguous evidence of plant-based technologies. Despite this, direct evidence for early wooden tool use remains exceptionally rare. Here, we present the earliest handheld wooden tools, identified from secure contexts at the site of Marathousa 1, Greece, dated to ca. 430 ka (MIS12). Through a systematic morphological, microscopic, taphonomic, and taxonomic analysis of the sampled wood macroremains, two specimens were securely identified as modified by hominins: one small alder ( Alnus sp.) trunk fragment bears clear working and use-wear traces consistent with a multifunctional stick likely used in digging at the paleolakeshore; and one very small willow/poplar ( Salix sp./ Populus sp.) artifact exhibits signs of shaping and potential use-wear. A third specimen, a large alder trunk segment, shows deep, nonanthropogenic striations interpreted here as claw marks from a large carnivoran. The wooden tools were excavated together with butchered elephant remains, small lithic artifacts and debitage, and worked bone, underscoring the diversity of engagement with a variety of different raw materials for technological purposes at Marathousa 1. These finds extend the temporal range of early wooden tools. They represent both the use of expedient larger handheld tools as well as a much smaller, likely finger-held wooden tool, which is uniquely small for the Pleistocene, expanding known functional purposes of early wood technologies. Moreover, they highlight the Megalopolis Basin’s exceptional preservation conditions and its role in understanding the evolution of hominin behavior.