January 2026 brought results from three very different kinds of archaeological evidence. In Sulawesi, researchers dated mineral deposits over hand stencils to establish a minimum age for the art. In Colombia, a recovered ancient genome expanded the known history of Treponema pallidum, the bacterial group that includes the causes of syphilis and related diseases. At Marathousa in Greece, waterlogged sediments preserved worked wood from a lakeshore site around 430,000 years old. Together, the studies show how dating and preservation shape what survives in the record.
Hand stencils at least 67,800 years old
A study in Nature reported hand stencils from caves on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Researchers used uranium-series dating on mineral deposits that formed over the painted surfaces. The oldest dated overlying deposit gives a minimum age of at least 67,800 years for the art beneath it. The work places the stencils among the oldest securely dated rock art currently known and strengthens evidence for early human presence and movement through the Wallacean islands.
The date is a minimum, not the exact day or year the pigment was applied. Scientists dated a mineral crust above the art, not the pigment itself. Nor does a stencil identify its maker: the archaeological evidence cannot determine the individual’s species from the image alone. The distinctive hand outlines and altered fingertips are observations; their cultural meaning remains open to research.
A 5,500-year-old pathogen genome in Colombia
Researchers recovered DNA from an individual buried at Tequendama I, a rock shelter in Colombia, and reconstructed a genome belonging to the Treponema pallidum group. Radiocarbon evidence places the remains at about 5,500 years old. The genome broadens the known diversity and antiquity of treponemal bacteria in the Americas, pushing their directly documented history far earlier than written medical descriptions.
This finding does not show that the person had a particular clinical disease or that the modern categories of syphilis, yaws and bejel applied in the same way in the past. Pathogen lineages change over time, and a single genome cannot describe how common an infection was or how it spread. The study adds a molecular data point that can be compared with other ancient and modern genomes.
Wooden tools from Marathousa
At Marathousa 1 in Greece, waterlogged sediments preserved two wooden objects dated to roughly 430,000 years ago. One is interpreted as a possible digging stick; a smaller piece of willow shows shaping or use-related features that led researchers to classify it as a tool. The site also preserves evidence of hominin activity around a former lake, including stone tools and animal remains. Wood rarely survives for such long periods, so the finds document a part of technology usually missing from archaeological collections.
The objects cannot be assigned to a named human species from the wooden implements alone. Their exact tasks are also uncertain, especially for the smaller piece. The strong conclusion is that people in this landscape worked wood and that preservation conditions make such evidence exceptionally rare. Their toolkits were likely more varied than the stone record by itself suggests.
Three records, three kinds of uncertainty
Mineral crust dates art indirectly but securely constrains its minimum age. Ancient DNA reveals ancestry of a pathogen but not a complete history of illness. Worked wood shows technical choices but rarely preserves the full tool or its use. Each study moves knowledge forward because its claims are tied to a specific sample and method. For more context, see our articles on prehistoric art and early human tools.
Frequently asked questions
Is 67,800 years the exact age of the Sulawesi hand stencil?
No. Researchers dated a mineral deposit above the stencil, so the result establishes a minimum age. The art itself may be older.
Does the Colombian genome prove that the individual had syphilis?
It identifies ancient DNA from the Treponema pallidum group. It does not diagnose a specific illness in that individual or map modern disease categories directly onto the past.
Which human species made the Marathousa wooden tools?
The objects cannot identify their makers to species. The site dates to a period before Homo sapiens appeared, but the tools alone do not name the hominins present.
Why are ancient wooden tools so rare?
Wood decays in most burial environments. Waterlogged or otherwise unusual conditions can preserve it, making the surviving examples an incomplete record of past technology.