Middle Paleolithic shell beads in Israel and Algeria.
Perforated marine gastropod shells at the western Asian site of Skhul and the North African site of Oued Djebbana indicate the early use of beads by modern humans in these regions. The remoteness of these sites from the seashore and a comparison of the shells to natural shell assemblages indicate deliberate selection and transport by humans for symbolic use. Elemental and chemical analyses of sediment matrix adhered to one Nassarius gibbosulus from Skhul indicate that the shell bead comes from a layer containing 10 human fossils and dating to 100,000 to 135,000 years ago, about 25,000 years earlier than previous evidence for personal decoration by modern humans in South Africa.
Vanhaereny
Marian
M
Centre for the Evolution of Cultural Diversity, University College London, 31-34 Gordon Square, London WC1H OPY, UK. Ethnologie Préhistorique, CNRS UMR 7041, 21 Allée de l'Université, F-92023 Nanterre, France. m.vanhaeren@ucl.ac.uk
d'Errico
Francesco
F
Stringer
Chris
C
James
Sarah L
SL
Todd
Jonathan A
JA
Mienis
Henk K
HK
D000462:Algeria; D000818:Animals; D001106:Archaeology; D002048:Burial; D003469:Culture; D005580:Fossils; D019015:Geologic Sediments; D049690:History, Ancient; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel; D009144:Museums; D012908:Snails; D013561:Symbolism