Scientists found a mysterious engraving on an ancient shell. The marking on the shell altered the understanding of ancient human creativity.
Researchers consider it as the oldest form of human geometric engraving on a shell. They discovered nearly 160 shells from a museum of Indonesia. In 19th century, a Dutch anatomist named Dr. Eugene Dubois collected them in order to study the fundamental idea of human evolution.
Every shell has a different mark on the surface. However, one shell has a zigzagged pattern which is probably engraved through a shark’s tooth. The pattern which is similar to the letter M is present along with a few slashes on the shell. The engraving on this shell suggests that it is around 430,000 years old. This engraving is certainly surprising for scientists since majority of the art such as cave painting; rock painting is not that old.
Therefore, experts closely analyzed all the patterns of the shell. Afterwards, they concluded that the “Upright Man” was involved in artistic activities earlier than the expectations of scientists.
Modern humans were not lived at that particular time era. Hence, researchers believe that Homo erectus probably craved this shell. Homo erectus is an extinct species of Hominine
Everyone knows that Homo erectus use stone tools in their daily life. However, no one was aware that they utilize utensils made up of shells.
Josephine Joordens, the lead author of the report stated that the new discovery will definitely mix up the perceptions of humanity and its ancestors.
The discovery is explained in detail in latest edition of Journal Nature.