I wonder if any signs of artwork were found, too.
'Oldest sculpture' found in MoroccoA 400,000-year-old stone object unearthed in Morocco could be the world's oldest attempt at sculpture... The object, which is around six centimetres in length, is shaped like a human figure, with grooves that suggest a neck, arms and legs. On its surface are flakes of a red substance that could be remnants of paint. The object was found 15 metres below the eroded surface of a terrace on the north bank of the River Draa near the town of Tan-Tan. It was reportedly lying just a few centimetres away from stone handaxes in ground layers dating to the Middle Acheulian period, which lasted from 500,000 to 300,000 years ago... A 200,000-300,000-year-old stone object found at Berekhat Ram in Israel in 1986 has also been the subject of claims that it is a figurine. However, several other researchers later presented evidence to show that it was probably shaped by geological processes.
by Paul RinconEvidence of earliest human burialScientists claim they have found the oldest evidence of human creativity: a 350,000-year-old pink stone axe.... Spanish researchers found the axe among the fossilised bones of 27 ancient humans that were clumped together at the bottom of a 14-metre- (45 feet) deep pit inside a network of limestone caves at Atapuerca, near Burgos... "It's a great discovery. This is an interpretation, but in my opinion and the opinion of my team, the axe could be the first evidence of ritual behaviour and symbolism in a human species," Professor Carbonell said. "We conclude it could be from a funeral rite," he added... The human remains belong to the species Homo heidelbergensis, which dominated Europe around 600,000-200,000 years ago and is thought to have given rise to both the Neanderthals and modern humans (Homo sapiens)... "I'm cautious about its significance," said Professor Chris Stringer, also of the Natural History Museum... Previously, the earliest funeral rituals were thought to be associated with Neanderthal remains dated 100,000 years ago. But some researchers dispute the significance of these sites, preferring to believe that abstract thinking began around 50,000 years ago in modern humans.
by Paul Rincon
Wednesday, 26 March, 2003'Lump of Rock' Turns Out to Be World's First SculptureScientists claim they have found the oldest evidence of human creativity: a 350,000-year-old pink stone axe.... Spanish researchers found the axe among the fossilised bones of 27 ancient humans that were clumped together at the bottom of a 14-metre- (45 feet) deep pit inside a network of limestone caves at Atapuerca, near Burgos... "It's a great discovery. This is an interpretation, but in my opinion and the opinion of my team, the axe could be the first evidence of ritual behaviour and symbolism in a human species," Professor Carbonell said. "We conclude it could be from a funeral rite," he added... The human remains belong to the species Homo heidelbergensis, which dominated Europe around 600,000-200,000 years ago and is thought to have given rise to both the Neanderthals and modern humans (Homo sapiens)... "I'm cautious about its significance," said Professor Chris Stringer, also of the Natural History Museum... Previously, the earliest funeral rituals were thought to be associated with Neanderthal remains dated 100,000 years ago. But some researchers dispute the significance of these sites, preferring to believe that abstract thinking began around 50,000 years ago in modern humans.
The Independent
September 25, 2000Oldest jewellery disputes "out of Africa" theoryArchaeologist Lawrence Straus, from the University of New Mexico, agrees the evidence supports the continuity theory: "The ongoing process of human adaptation was a long, drawn out process, mosaic in nature. The idea of a total and abrupt replacement of an inferior species 40,000 years ago has in my opinion been fabricated."
by Damian Carrington, Boston