Archaeologists find oldest wooden tools in Greece believed to be 430,000 years old

Archaeologists have discovered what they believe to be the oldest wooden tools ever discovered, dating back hundreds of thousands of years, according to a new study.

The tools were found in the Greek Megalopolis Basin, a low-lying valley on the Peloponnese Peninsula in southern Greece.

Published in late January in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study estimates that the tools could be around 430,000 years old, although the exact age is unknown.

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The tools “represent the first portable wooden tools and include a new type of tool,” according to a summary of the study obtained by Fox News Digital.

The findings “demonstrate the importance of a systematic investigation of early wooden remains,” the summary also states.

Archaeologists say the wooden tools discovered in the Greek megacities basin could date back around 430,000 years, making them potentially the oldest of their type. (Katerina Harvati, Dimitris Michailidis via AP; Prisma/UIG/Getty Images)

The area where the tools were found was covered in wetlands and lakes hundreds of thousands of years ago.

One of them – a stick – is about 2.5 feet long. It was probably used for digging in mud, while the other is a small, portable piece of wood that could have been used to fashion stone tools.

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As the wood rots very quickly, few ancient tools of this type survive.

The recently discovered tools were covered in sediment and preserved by the surrounding wetland.

Researchers believe a small piece of hand-held wood could have been used to shape stone tools thousands of centuries ago. (Katerina Harvati, Dimitris Michailidis via AP)

Modern humans did not exist at the time, leading scientists to believe that these tools could have been used by Neanderthals or other human ancestors.

Annemieke Milks, an archaeologist at the University of Reading and author of the study, said she was “excited to be able to touch these objects.”

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Another archaeologist was cautious about this discovery.

Archaeologists say a wooden tool, measuring about 2.5 feet long, was likely used for digging in muddy, wet ground. (Katerina Harvati, Dimitris Michailidis via AP)

Jarod Hutson of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History told The Associated Press that the purposes of these tools remain unclear.

“It’s hard to get excited about these tools because they don’t immediately strike you as wooden tools,” cautioned Hutson, who was not involved in the study.

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He added: “We don’t know what they were used for.”

This artifact joins other prehistoric discoveries that have surprised archaeologists in recent months.

Scientists suggest that these tools may have been used by Neanderthals or other human ancestors before modern humans existed. (Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Last month, archaeologists announced the discovery of rock art dating back about 68,000 years, discovered in a cave on a tropical island in central Indonesia.

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Researchers also recently identified the oldest poisoned arrowheads, they are estimated to be around 60,000 years old.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.