I have always thought the oldest known artifacts or tools were made of stone. Dead wrong! The oldest known artifact in the world was made of wood. It is the wooden thrusting spear found in Schoningen, Germany, about 400,000 years ago, which according to my reckoning was prior to the stone age. The date has not been confirmed and there are still unanswered questions.
Thee spears were made to hunt animals from a safe distance and are said to be equal to today’s javelin. The spears were discovered in 1995 by Hartmut Thierme. The oldest stone tool is believed to be 3.3 million years old ( Smithsonian). It is no surprise that the stone tools were found in Africa and if one follows the history, it is evident that the African ancestors migrated through Europe.
World’s Oldest Artifacts
(oldest.org)
Wooden spear from 400,000 years ago discovered in 1995 by Harmut Thieme in Schoningen, Germany. Three wooden spears were found along with stone tools. The spears are currently the oldest known wooden artifacts in the world.
Lomekwi Stone tools from 3.3 million years ago. Hand made stone tools found in West Turkana, Kenya; unearthed at lomekwi 3, an archaeological site in Kenya, once believed to be the oldest artifacts in the world.
Oldowan Stone tools from 2.6 million years ago. Hand made stone tools found in Gona, Ethiopia and up until 2015 were believed to be the oldest stone tools ever found; the first Oldowon tools were discovered by paleoanthropoligist/archaeologist Louis Lekey in the 1930s. The tools were around 1.8 million years old.
Acheulean Stone tools from 1.76 million years ago. Hand made stone tools including hand axes found spread across Africa, Asia, and Europe. The oldest was found in Kenya. The hand axes are named after the St. Acheul archaeological site in France where the first tool was discovered in the late 1860s. The oldest hand axe was found in at the archaeological site, Kokiselei 4 in Kenya.
Cave Paint Making Studio from 100,000 years ago. Paint making kits made of shells and assorted bones found in Blombos Cave, Western Cape, South Africa. They found evidence of the ability and technology to mix paints.
Skhul Cave Beads from 100.000 years ago. Found in Skhul Cave in Israel and thought to be the oldest pieces of jewelry created by humans. The shells were from the sea.
Bone Flutes made of bird bone and ivory from 42,000 to 43,000 years ago. Scientists believe the bone flutes are the oldest musical instruments ever found in the world.
Ivory Sculpture Lowenmensch Figurine (Lion-man of the Hohlenstein-Stadel Cave) from 35,000 to 40,000 years ago, found in the Hohlenstein-Stadel Cave, Swabian Jura, Germany, reported to be the oldest known piece of figurative art in the world and was first discovered in 1939 by geologist Ottp Volzing at the Hohlenstein-Stadel cave. World War Two interrupted the research for 30 years. Archaeologist Joachim continued the reconstruction when more fragments were discovered in 2009. The almost completed sculpture now sits in the Ulm Museum.
Ivory Sculpture of the Venus of Hole Fels from between 40,000 and 35,000 years ago and discovered in 2008 in the Hole Fels cave by an archaeological team led by Nicholas J.Conard of Schelklingen Germany.
True or False and Questions?
The Dropa Stones or sometimes spelled, the Dzropa Stones from 12,000 years ago. Discovered in 1938 by an expedition led by archaeologist Dr. Chi Pu in Bajan-Karu-Ula in China. Nine inch diameter stone discs with a circle cut into the centers and an obvious spiral grove composed of tiny hieroglyphics which revealed an amazing story of space ships that crashed into the mountains and piloted by people who called themselves the Dropa.
ThIs was the conclusion of the Chinese researcher in charge, who went off into a self-imposed exile in Japan. Russian researchers attempted to assist in further studies but research was discontinued without an explanation and it was not made public (ZME Science.)
The London Hammer is encased in a 400 million year old rock. Discovered between 1934 and 1936 by Max Han in London.
Questions Questions: the hammer head was 96% iron. This predates the iron age. There are still unanswered questions and no confirmation.
Did the tool get stuck in an ancient rock by some scientific process?
Were there visitors from outer space? Aliens on earth?
Did our African ancestors travel to Europe, and how?
Why were the supposedly African artifacts found in Germany?
What was the map of the world like in that period?
3 comments on “The Oldest Known Artifacts”
Wave
Hi! Nice topic, and never ending!
Why do you say African about the artifacts found in Germany? There wereCave Lions in Europe. Big predators in interglacial older Stone Age..
And humanoids from African continent have migrated to Europe and most other places in many waves. The thing I feel, is that no one should claim them to be “us” 500000 years ago. They probably looked very diverse, with different technologies..Latest ancient migration from Subsaharan Africa to Europe is now found to be around early Bronze Age or so! I find that very interesting ? And so far science tells that all of us have our foremother in Africa. Europeans and Asians have even 2-4% Neanderthal DNA, while black Africans have none of that. What do you think about that?
Courtney Devonish
A very interesting topic, I wish I could spend a year on some studies. the art style was definitely African. Is there an online course anywhere. The history of the Moores must be an eye-opener. I would prefer a neutral historian.You seem to be very curious about the subject also. All the best, nice to hear from you.
Wave
Otherwise I think you have dived into a good sauce of religious creationism, undocumented material about discs that mainly derive from Chinese culture and a dash of highly Eurocentric and Afrocentric archeological claims.