From the Cover: A Howiesons Poort tradition of engraving ostrich eggshell containers dated to 60,000 years ago at Diepkloof Rock Shelter, South Africa.
Ongoing debates about the emergence of modern human behavior, however defined, regularly incorporate observations from the later part of the southern African Middle Stone Age and emphasize the early appearance of artifacts thought to reflect symbolic practice. Here we report a large sample of 270 fragments of intentionally marked ostrich eggshell from the Howiesons Poort at Diepkloof Rock Shelter, Western Cape, South Africa. Dating from approximately 60,000 years ago, these pieces attest to an engraving tradition that is the earliest reliable evidence of what is a widespread modern practice. These abstract linear depictions were made on functional items (eggshell containers), which were curated and involved in daily hunter-gatherer life. The standardized production of repetitive patterns, including a hatched band motif, suggests a system of symbolic representation in which collective identities and individual expressions are clearly communicated, suggesting social, cultural, and cognitive underpinnings that overlap with those of modern people.
Texier
Pierre-Jean
PJ
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 5199-De la Préhistoire à l'Actuel Culture, Environnement, et Anthropologie, Université de Bordeaux 1, 33405 Talence, France. pierrejean.texier@ipgq.ubordeaux1.fr
Porraz
Guillaume
G
Parkington
John
J
Rigaud
Jean-Philippe
JP
Poggenpoel
Cedric
C
Miller
Christopher
C
Tribolo
Chantal
C
Cartwright
Caroline
C
Coudenneau
Aude
A
Klein
Richard
R
Steele
Teresa
T
Verna
Christine
C
D000818:Animals; D003469:Culture; D004528:Egg Shell; D004741:Engraving and Engravings; D006801:Humans; D020311:Rheiformes; D013019:South Africa; D013997:Time Factors