💬 Archaeologists have found evidence of the oldest wooden handheld tools used by humans. Discovered in Greece, these ancient tools are around 430,000 years old.

⚡Dr Annemieke Milks is a palaeolithic archaeologist and part of the team which identified the objects. They were recovered from Marathousa, a Middle Pleistocene site which may have been inhabited by Homo heidelbergensis - one of our distant ancestors.

In this episode we find out about this incredible discovery - and discuss Annemieke’s wider research looking into the ancient wooden hunting weapons used by humans in the deep past.

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🎧 Stay tuned to learn about:

➡ What these wooden hand-tools would’ve been used for

➡ How this wood has been preserved for so long

➡ The prehistoric wooden spears discovered at Schöningen in Germany

➡ What shifts in weapon design tell us about the cognitive abilities of ancient humans

➡ The emerging field of children’s archaeology

Read the paper: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2515479123

About the podcast:

What We Did Before is a podcast exploring the history of everyday life, from how we kept food fresh before fridges, to how we survived without shoes and what came before AI.

About your host:

Ollie Guillou is an award-winning podcast producer and broadcaster. He's co-founder of OG Podcasts, working with the likes of New Scientist, Dr Karan and Lessons From Our Mothers.

Connect with Ollie:

Website: www.ogpodcasts.co.uk

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ollie-guillou

Email: hello@ogpodcasts.co.uk

Image Credits:

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Annual-ring-analysis-a-Taphonomic-transverse-break-surface-from-where-micro-cuts-were_fig5_372470761

💬 There’s a ruined archway sitting among the trees of my local park - but what grand building did it once belong to? A castle? A church? A grand manor house?

In this episode I take a trip to Worden Park in Leyland. Rich in history, this park was once the estate of James Nowell Farington, who set about a major programme of improvements when he inherited it in 1837.

⚡ Join me on a trip to visit an archway with a very strange backstory, a Victorian-era ice house decorated with ancient ornaments, and a stone that landed in the park during the last Ice Age.

Don't miss an episode - subscribe now:

https://podfollow.com/what-we-did-before

About the podcast:

What We Did Before is a podcast exploring the history of everyday life, from how we kept food fresh before fridges, to how we survived without shoes and what came before AI.

About your host:

Ollie Guillou is an award-winning podcast producer and broadcaster. He's co-founder of OG Podcasts, working with the likes of New Scientist, Dr Karan and Lessons From Our Mothers.

Connect with Ollie:

Website: www.ogpodcasts.co.uk

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ollie-guillou

Email: hello@ogpodcasts.co.uk

Image Credits:

Paul Brooker / Ralph Allens Castle

Sham Castle, Bathampton by Humphrey Bolton, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Sham Castle, Bathampton Down by Elliott Simpson, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

buzzard525, CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Artur Kozioł, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

St. Andrew's Church by philandju, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Colin Smith / Inside Broome Park Ice House

You had lots of questions about the Victorian job of the "Bleach Packer". So I invited Judith Wilde from Catalyst museum back for a Q&A.Together we dig deeper into the fascinating history of this gruelling job, that helped build the chemical industry.🎧 Judith answers questions like: Stay tuned to learn about:➡ Why didn't their eyes burn?➡ Did the muzzle actually work?➡ Why were some of them drinking ten pints a day?➡ Did this really continue into the 1950s?➡ What is the area of Widnes like today?Don't miss an episode - subscribe now:https://podfollow.com/what-we-did-before Visit Catalyst Museum: https://www.catalyst.org.uk/ About the podcast:What We Did Before is a podcast where we chart the history of modern inventions, from how we kept food fresh before fridges, to how we survived without shoes and what came before AI.About your hosts:Ollie Guillou is an award-winning podcast producer and broadcaster. He's co-founder of OG Podcasts, working with the likes of New Scientist, Dr Karan and Lessons From Our Mothers.Matt Pyle is a lead software developer and tech enthusiast with a keen interest in media, and a love for interesting conversation and learning.Connect with Ollie:Website: www.ogpodcasts.co.uk LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ollie-guillou Email: hello@ogpodcasts.co.uk