Wooden tools found on the shore of a lake in Greece are believed by scholars to be the oldest known to date

Wooden tools found on the shore of a lake in Greece are believed by scholars to be the oldest known to date. Their age is estimated at roughly 430,000 years.

I remain convinced, all the same, that half a million years is a rather modest figure beside the true age of "rational" humankind. One day there will be more evidence, and it will be plain for all to see.

One of the objects found is a slender stick some 80 centimetres long, presumably used for digging in the soil. The second artefact is a shorter fragment of willow or poplar wood, whose purpose remains less clear. According to one hypothesis, it may have been used in the making of stone tools.

Wooden objects rarely survive to our day, since the material is prone to decay. Their preservation requires special conditions: ice, a cave environment or long immersion in water.