Fossil Shell Has Earliest Engraving Ever Discovered Created by Pre-Modern Humans

Researchers have uncovered one of the oldest pieces of art yet discovered: an engraved freshwater mussel. The findings reveal that Homo erectus on the island of Java was already using shells as tools and as a canvas.

"Until this discovery, it was assumed that comparable engravings were only made by modern humans (Homo sapiens) in Africa, starting about 100,000 years ago," said Jose Joordens, the lead author of the new study, in a news release.

In this case, the shell has a geometrical pattern formed into a zigzag. However, this pattern can only be seen with oblique lighting and is clearly older than the weathering process on the shell arising from fossilization. It's unlikely that this pattern was caused by animals or by natural weather processes, which means that the likely culprit was Homo erectus.

"It's fantastic that this engraved shell has been discovered in a museum collection where it has been held for more than a hundred years," said Wil Roebroeks, one of the researchers. "I can imagine people may be wondering whether this can be seen as a form of early art. At the moment we have no clue about the meaning or purpose of this engraving."

The researchers applied two dating methods to determine that the shell with the engraving is, at minimum, 430,000 years old. At the oldest, it's 540,000 years old. This means that the engraving itself is four times older than the previously oldest known engravings, found in Africa.

The findings shed new light on the skills and behavior of Homo erectus. Not only that, but it hints that Asia may be a promising area for further exploration when it comes to hunting for artifacts.

The findings are published in two papers in the journal Nature here and here.

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