Overview

• Feldspar mineral dating shows the Gantangqing tools were crafted between 361,000 and 250,000 years ago
• The assemblage includes 35 pine and hardwood implements with deliberate whittling marks, smoothed surfaces and preserved knots
• Large digging sticks and smaller hook-shaped blades appear to have been used for harvesting underground tubers, roots and nuts
• Professor Bo Li identifies Denisovans as the most likely toolmakers, reinforcing their technological sophistication in Middle Paleolithic East Asia
• The discovery challenges views of regional technological stagnation and is prompting renewed surveys for rare organic artifacts