Artifacts help us take a glimpse into the past. What many used in their day-to-day lives helps historians and researchers learn more about the life they lived. But some artifacts have completely changed the world.
Either by being the first of its kind and guiding humanity into evolving, or showing technological advances from 30,000 years ago. So what was the oldest artifact in the world? And how have they shaped not only our understanding of the past but our lives to this day?
What Is the Oldest Object in the World?
Artifacts are one thing, but what about the oldest thing ever in history? That might be a vague question, but there’s actually an answer. An ancient crystal that was discovered in 2001 reveals the earliest evidence of fresh water according to scientists.
The crystal is the oldest rock fragment ever found on Earth and comes from the Jack Hills, an inland range in western Australia. The mineral Zircon dates to 4.374 billion years ago, which is insane. Though, in cosmic time, it’s not so long as the planet was born around 4.56 billion years ago.
So why is this so exciting for many? This contradicts the thought that the first 500 million years of Earth’s history, known as the Hadean Eon, was chaotic, filled with endless volcanism and continual meteor bombardment, keeping the magma ocean on the surface.
This mineral proves that there was a presence of liquid water, maybe even an ocean. This could mean that life evolved earlier than originally thought.
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6. Pesse Canoe
Boats are used every day to travel and trade resources. But have you ever wondered what the first boat in the world was? Boats were the primary means of transportation to cross lengthy water, especially oceans, and explore new lands.
If it weren’t for boats, we’d never technologically advanced or explored more cultures. The first boat dates back around 10,000 years ago and is known as the Pesse Canoe. It was crafted by an ace from a Scot’s pine and was discovered in 1955 in the Netherlands.
Even though the boat is only 10,000 years old, the first established boat travel is roughly 50,000 years ago when Homo sapiens colonized places like New Guinea and Australia. Even so, the oldest boat shows us the innovative ways that those long before us learned to travel and adapt.
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5. Venus of Hohle Fels
Tools and devices are great artifacts to learn about history, but art is just as important. In fact, a statue that was found in 2008 is considered to be the earliest known depiction of a human being in prehistoric art.
The Venus of Hohle Fels is a figurine made of mammoth ivory unearthed in a cave near Schelkingen, Germany. It’s dated around 40,000 years ago, at the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic. This figurine is the oldest undisputed example of a human being, not counting the lion-headed Lowenmensch figurine.
The region is known for having several mammoth ivory artifacts, with approximately 25 items have been discovered to date. Uncovering the artifact not only gives us a glimpse at the art styles back then but also shows the interest and study of the human body.
4. Divje Babe Flute
Also called Tidldibab, the Divje Babe flute is made out of a cave bear femur and pierced by spaced holes. It’s also the oldest artifact in the world which is a musical instrument. It was discovered in 1995 during systematic archaeological excavations led by the Institute of Archaeology of the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts.
The flute is suggested to have been made by Neanderthals, dating around 50,000 years ago, which gives it the other name of just Neanderthal Flute. This flute is a great find, as there have not been any other known instances of Neanderthal musical instruments or symbolic value of it thus far.
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3. Skhul Cave Beads
What is the oldest artifact in the world focused on jewelry? Assumed to be around 100,000 years old, beads have been found in Skhul Cave, a prehistoric cave site south of Haifa, Israel near the Mediterranean Sea.
The beads are from a type of marine mollusk called Nasarius and have been perforated and are thought to not only be decorative but also hold symbolic significance and purposes. But the beads don’t stop there. Some have also been found at Oued Djebbana, Algeria, and many believe that the bean was transported. This shows evidence of the evolution of modern humans and suggests that humans originated from Africa.
2. Blombos Painting Kit
Ever seen cave art in documentaries or even movies and wondered how they were painted? The second item on the list of the oldest artifact in the world shows off how it was created, and dates back around 100,000 years ago. These paint-making kits were discovered in Blombos Cave near Still Bay, South Africa, and show how these paints were created.
Researchers have found the oldest known example of a human-made compound mixture. The compound was made with ocher, a soft, iron-rich clay used in the earliest forms of paint and pigment. Ocher is usually ground up and mixed with bone heated to release the oils within the marrow. The heated, crushed bone was mixed with charcoal and ocher stirred in the shells, and then used to draw on the walls.
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1. Lomekwi Stone Tools
From a variety of arts back to tools and devices, the oldest artifact in the world ever is the Lomekwi stone tools. At a ripe age of around 3.3 million years old, Lomekwi stone tools are evidence of someone chipping away at rocks by the side of a river. Soon, the chipping formed the rock into a tool used to prepare meat or crack nuts.
This artifact was unearthed in a dried-up riverbed in Kenya, along with what appear to be early hammers and cutting instruments. Up until that moment, the earliest tools were that of a 2.6 million-year-old site in Ethiopia known as the Oldowan stone tools. Earlier even in Ethiopia tools dated back to 1.76 million years ago and were also uncovered known as the Acheulean stone tools.
