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The Rarest Wooden Artefacts Ever Found

Stefan Milo

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Wood rarely survives in the archaeological record but every now and then we get a few spectacular examples left to us. Join me on this exploration of some extremely rare and precious examples of wooden artefacts.

0:00 Intro
0:58 the first construction
4:39 the first bows
10:01 Polynesian voyaging canoe
11:50 the first voyage over the horizon
14:49 Neanderthal levers
15:53 lost gods

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20 Comments

@StefanMilo Creator 11 months ago (edited) Pinned

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@asmallpossum 11 months ago

Hi Stefan! I was actually one of the excavators at Kalambo Falls! I went with a team from the University of Liverpool with Dr. Barham while I was doing my undergraduate degree. I personally got to excavate the "pole and joint" structural pieces, it was really amazing when we uncovered them enough to see how they were still interlocked together!

@thecunningkrugereffect 11 months ago

PLEASE do an episode on Bog Bodies or bog archeology! You can learn about how freaking cool peat is and bogs in general!

@RO-oc4bk 11 months ago

13:00 shop's sign says "Dyer and Tea shop, Inayoh-ke" It seems it is a cafe with traditional Okinawan cloths shop.

@repeat_defender 11 months ago

Bogs preserve things so well because of the wet, acidic, oxygen-free situation in the ground. It's like pickling things, sort of.

@eaglepursuit 11 months ago

I remember the first time I took my oldest child into the woods for a walk. He was only a year old and barely tottering about, but he immediately picked up a small stick and began poking leaves and logs with it. No one ever showed him how to do this. I think it is built into our brains to use a stick as a tool, as even a toddler can find a use for one.

@codygranrud6212 11 months ago

Shoutout to all the carpenters throughout history.

@PollokPoochesDogWalking 11 months ago (edited)

0:40 I love that the wood age vs stone age thing is a cliche to you but I had never heard that before in my life and never even thought about it, but it makes so much sense. I love your take on everything man.

@Android480 11 months ago

Sometimes I can’t comprehend the amount of culture and experience the world contains. A hundred thousand years of people just like you, all of them with a life as rich and fraught as yours.

@KonguZya 11 months ago

I have thought that if wood preserved, the transition to Gobekli Tepe would probably not seem nearly so stark.

@ShootingUtah 11 months ago

Don't forget about the atl atl! Those were used before bows I'm pretty sure and for a long time too. Not as advanced but still takes a lot of understanding of tools and wood.

@chomskyhonk1680 11 months ago

I've always wondered why people don't ever talk about the "wood age" but the very fact that very little of it survives kind of answers the questions. Our ancestors mastered wood before stone and I'm sure they made some incredible monuments that simply could not last.

@OlessanYT 11 months ago

1:35 I was NOT expecting those pieces of wood, still in arrangement, to be half a million years old.

@alexanderstainton3199 11 months ago

Stefan's got a stick and I'm here for it

@davidglenn5223 10 months ago

The Doggerland video I was saving for dinner has vanished. Big Doggerland fan.

@jamesthesilver 11 months ago

Stefan, I’ve been deeply interested in archaeology for about 15 years, but somehow I only just discovered your videos!

Just wanted to say that I absolutely love the way you communicate with passion yet make it seem so conversational, your work is really excellent.

Keep doing what you’re doing, you seem like a great guy and deserve all the success.

@red.aries1444 11 months ago

5:18 "Vogelstang" is a really fitting name for finding remains of a bow, cause the wooden pole on which you put the target, mostly a bird, in a shooting competition is called a "Vogelstang".