In short:
Scientists in South Africa have discovered the oldest known active termite hills to date, at over 30,000 years old.
Stellenbosch University researchers used radiocarbon dating to determine some termite mounds near the Buffels River in Namaqualand were about 34,000 years old.
What's next?
The university's Department of Soil Science Senior Lecturer Michele Francis called for more research into how termites can teach us to sustain our ecosystems.
Scientists in South Africa have discovered the oldest known active termite hills to date, at over 30,000 years old.
Researchers from Stellenbosch University used radiocarbon dating to determine some termite mounds in an arid region of the country were about 34,000 years old.
They excavated samples from mounds near the Buffels River in Namaqualand and dated them in a Hungary facility.
"We knew they were old, but not that old," Stellenbosch University Department of Soil Science Senior Lecturer Michele Francis said.
An underground 'apartment complex'
Termite mounds are a famous feature of the Namaqualand landscape.
"People don't know that these are special, ancient landscapes that are preserved there."
The mounds pre-date to some of the earliest cave paintings in Europe, and existed while sabre-toothed cats and woolly mammoths roamed other parts of the Earth.
Some of the biggest mounds — known locally as "heuweltjies," which means "little hills" in the Afrikaans language — measure around 30 metres across.
They also reach three metres deep underground.
Ms Francis said the Namaqualand mounds are a termite version of an "apartment complex" and the evidence shows they have been consistently inhabited by termite colonies.
Researchers needed to carefully excavate parts of the mounds to take samples, and the termites went into "emergency mode" and started filling in the holes.
The team fully reconstructed the mounds to keep the termites safe from predators like aardvarks.
A climate phenomena
Ms Francis said the project was more than just a fascinating look at ancient structures.
It also offered a peek into a prehistoric climate, showing Namaqualand was a much wetter place when the mounds were formed.
The southern harvester termites are experts at capturing and storing carbon by collecting twigs and other dead wood and putting it back deep into the soil.
That has benefits in offsetting climate change by reducing the amount of carbon emitted into the atmosphere.
It's also good for the soil. Masses of wildflowers bloom on top of the termite mounds in a region that receives little rain.
Ms Francis is calling for more research on termite mounds — especially on the lessons they offer on climate change, sustaining ecosystems and maybe even improving agricultural practices.
"We will do well to study what the termites have done in the mounds. They were thought to be very boring."
Some fossilised termite mounds have been discovered dating back millions of years.
The oldest inhabited mounds before this study were found in Brazil and are around 4,000 years old. They are visible from space.