Wooden tools 171,000 years old that didn’t rot away? Color me a bit skeptical.
Fire also hardens wooden tools; it is not just used to shape the tool. I suspect they did it more for hardening than shaping. But what do I know?
Concur. I don't think we date things as accurately as we think we do. I doubt that these sticks are anywhere near that age.
In anaerobic conditions, such as very wet or waterlogged soils, the lack of oxygen drastically slows the processes of decomposition.