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SUMMARY:The 'Wood Age' at Kalambo Falls\, Zambia - Professor Larry Barham\
 , University of Liverpool
DTSTART:20250123T160000Z
DTEND:20250123T173000Z
UID:TALK226309@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Rachel Ballantyne
DESCRIPTION:Direct evidence of Palaeolithic wood working rarely survives i
 n the archaeological record\, especially in the tropics. The Early Stone A
 ge African site of Kalambo Falls\, Zambia offers a rare and exceptional co
 ntext for the preservation of wood. Excavations in 2019 recovered wood too
 ls and other plant remains from waterlogged deposits\, along with stone to
 ols (Acheulean\, Sangoan). Each of three phases of occupation preserves wo
 od tools with the sequence dated by luminescence (post-IR IRSL). <br />\n<
 br />\nThe earliest deposits (476\,000 ka ± 23 ka) have received the most
  attention\, and deservedly so\, for the preservation of the earliest evid
 ence of the structural use of wood. Other lesser-known finds to be describ
 ed include a digging stick (390\,000 ka ±25 ka) and a log extracted from 
 a tree trunk and used as a work surface (324\,000 ka ±15 ka). Analyses ar
 e ongoing and adding new information on the extent of the shaping of the s
 tructure in its construction.<br />\n<br >\nThe fact that there was a wood
 en structure\, alongside a conceptually new approach to technology – the
  combining of parts to make a functioning whole ̶ show what we regard as 
 a surprising level of folk engineering before the evolution of _Homo sapie
 ns_. But the artisans at Kalambo Falls lived in a woodland landscape and h
 ad the stone tools and skills to create a built environment. Their achieve
 ments remind us of the inherent limitations of our\, to date\, largely lit
 hics based knowledge of technological change.<br />\n<br />\nBarham\, L.\,
  Duller\, G.A.T.\, Candy\, I. et al. Evidence for the earliest structural 
 use of wood at least 476\,000 years ago. _Nature_ 622\, 107–111 (2023). 
 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06557-9<br />\n<br />\nBarham\, L.\, Kl
 eindienst\, M. 2023. Kalambo Falls\, Zambia. In: Beyin\, A.\, Wright\, D.K
 .\, Wilkins\, J.\, Olszewski\, D.I. (eds) _Handbook of Pleistocene Archaeo
 logy of Africa_\, Springer\, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-20290
 -2_76<br />\n<br />\nJoin online: https://bit.ly/garrod2025
LOCATION:McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research Seminar Room
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