Archaeologists in Zambia found the world's oldest known wooden structure: two interlocking logs connected by a notch, dating to about 476,000 years ago.
Notes on verification
Confirmed by peer-reviewed Nature paper and corroborated by multiple independent journalistic sources (CNN, Live Science, university press release). Details on dating method, location, and structure match primary source. [cascade flags: aggregator_dropped_primary_exists | tier=silver indep_score=0.95 clusters=3 claim_tier=exceptional]
Sources
- 117 Fascinating Finds Revealed in 2023 - Smithsonian Magazine (seed:history_and_archaeology)
- https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06557-9 (corroboration)
- https://news.liverpool.ac.uk/2023/09/20/archaeologists-discover-worlds-oldest-wooden-structure/ (corroboration)
- https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/20/africa/oldest-wooden-structure-zambia-scn/index.html (corroboration)