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Scientists: 73,000-Y-O South African 'Hashtag' Possibly Oldest Known Drawing

  • Humanity used ochre, a clay earth pigment, for at least 285,000 years.

    Humanity used ochre, a clay earth pigment, for at least 285,000 years. | Photo: Reuters

Published 13 September 2018
Opinion

The group of scientists theorizes that the marks - cross-hatch lines, which forms a shape similar to the hashtag symbol - on the red-pigmented rock fragment is about 73,000 years old.

On Wednesday, Nature published a research claiming that markings etched into a rock found in South Africa may be humanity’s oldest known drawing.

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"The archaeological layer in which [the drawing] was found has yielded other indicators of symbolic thinking, such as shell beads covered with ochre and, more importantly, pieces of ochres engraved with abstract patterns,” research team member Karen van Niekerk said, indicating that the lines appear to be more than just random doodling.

The group of scientists theorizes that the marks - cross-hatch lines, which forms a shape similar to the hashtag symbol - on the red-pigmented rock fragment is about 73,000 years old. Humanity used ochre, a clay earth pigment, for at least 285,000 years.

"The abrupt termination of all lines on the fragment edges indicates that the pattern originally extended over a larger surface," archaeologist Christopher Henshilwood told Reuters, adding that the markings were likely a part of a more complex and larger design. “The preservation is absolutely perfect.”

Scientists have recorded finding older engravings around the world. But the stone predates the previous earliest known cave art, found in Indonesia and Spain, by some 30,000 years.

The rock was discovered in Blombos Cave - an archaeological site located in Blombosfontein Nature Reserve, which is located approximately 300 kilometers east of Cape Town on the southern coast of South Africa.

Many other artifacts have been recovered from the site of the cave, including beads covered in red ochre, engraved ochre fragments, and a paint-making kit dating back around 100,000 years.

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