In 2001 the zircon crystal was unearthed at the Jack Hills sheep ranch in Western Australia. As it turned out, it was the oldest ‘thing’ ever discovered on Earth. Scientists dated the ancient crystal at about 4.4 billion years old. This is only around 150 million younger than the Earth itself.
Here’s a brief rundown on some of the world’s familiar oldest things:
The Oldest Structure
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Göbekli Tepe is an archaeological site in the Anatolia region of southeast Turkey. The name of the site translates to English as “Belly Hill”. The Neolithic settlement is thought to have been occupied by hunter-gatherer and semi-nomadic peoples between 10,000 and 13,000 years ago. Excavations to date of the site have revealed the existence of more than 40 large megalithic pillars. The pillars indicate the location of the world’s oldest known structure.
Ongoing excavation of the Göbekli Tepe site will doubtlessly result in many more ancient structures and artefacts being unearthed. The great significance of Göbekli Tepe is that it does not fit with the previously accepted view of human development. Before the site’s discovery, it was generally accepted that hunter-gatherer peoples were not capable of megalithic construction.
The Oldest Person
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According to the Bible, the biblical figure Methuselah famously lived to 969 years old. However, longevity experts generally agree that the maximum life span of a human is around 120 years. There happens to be only one person who has lived beyond the magic number and had their age independently verified. Frenchwoman, Jeanne Calment (1875–1997), who died aged 122 years and 164 days, is officially the oldest person who has ever lived.
Born Jeanne Louise Calment on 21 February 1875, she married her second cousin, Fernand Nicolas Calment, when aged 21. The couple’s only child, Yvonne, was born in 1898 but died of pleurisy in 1934. Jeanne was lucky enough to live an upper-class lifestyle and never had to work. In 1986, she became France’s oldest living person, aged 111, and then the world’s oldest living person four years later. She was officially recognised as the oldest person to have ever lived on 17 October 1995. Calment died of unspecified causes, two years later on 4 August 1997, in her hometown of Arles, France, aged 122.
The Oldest Book
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Many people make a natural assumption that the Bible is the world’s oldest book. However, it is ‘The Epic of Gilgamesh’ dating from around 2100 BCE which takes that title. Arising from ancient Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq), the works are widely recognised as the earliest surviving literature of significance. The writings are believed to have influenced other early great literary works such as the Iliad, the Odyssey and the Old Testament.
The ancient literary works detail the adventures of Gilgamesh, the king of Uruk, and his trusty companion Enkidu. When Enkidu unexpectedly dies, Gilgamesh is forced to question the meaning of life. In essence, the epic poem explores the perpetual themes of friendship, mortality and love. The works were published on clay tablets and written in cuneiform script. They have been translated into numerous languages.
The Oldest Animal
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Glass sponges were thought to have become extinct on Earth at least 40 million years ago. However, living reefs of the deep-sea dwellers were discovered in 1987. Many experts believe these creatures are the longest-lived animals on earth by a considerable margin as they have an estimated life span of up to 15,000 years. They appear as glass-like skeletal structures and are scientifically known as hexactinellid sponges since they essentially consist of six (or sometimes four) pointed spicules (siliceous tissue).
Glass sponges are most commonly found in the deep ocean, firmly attached to the sea floor or other hard surfaces. They feed entirely on plankton and bacteria which filter through their porous skeletal structure. As sponges die, their structure remains intact which can see reefs grow to well over 20 m tall.
The Oldest Motorcar
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The Benz Patent-Motorwagen was designed and built in 1885 by the German engineer Karl Benz. It is widely regarded as the first practical automobile and the first to go into production. Benz patented the Motorwagen in January 1886 and drove it in public for the first time 6 months later. The creation of the motorwagon generally saw Benz gain recognition as the inventor of the motorcar.
The Benz Patent-Motorwagen was a motor tricycle that had a rear-mounted engine. The body consisted of steel tubing with wooden panels and the steel-spoked wheels had solid rubber tyres. The single-cylinder four-stroke 954 cc engine produced about 2/3 of a horsepower. The vehicle had a top speed of 16 kph (10 mph) when it went into production in 1886. The vehicle’s original price was 600 imperial German marks or approximately US$ 150 (equivalent to US$ 5,013 in 2024).
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