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An engraved bone fragment from c. 70,000-year-old Middle Stone Age levels at Blombos Cave, South Africa: implications for the origin of symbolism and language

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Francesco D'Errico ,
Christopher Henshilwood  and
Peter Nilssen
Francesco D'Errico
Affiliation:
Institut de Préhistoire et de Géologie du Quaternaire, UMR 5808 CNRS, Avenue des Facultés, 33405 Talence, France.
Christopher Henshilwood
Affiliation:
Henshilwood, Department of Anthropology, State University of New York, Stony Brook NY 11794, USA.
Peter Nilssen
Affiliation:
Human Sciences Division, South African Museum, Queen Victoria Street, Cape Town 8001, South Africa.
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Extract

Examination of marks on a bone from Blombos Cave reveals that they were intentionally engraved and there is evidence of bone working techniques at the site. Engraved designs have also been identified on pieces of ochre from Blombos Cave, suggesting such engraving was a symbolic act with symbolic meaning.

Keywords

Middle Stone Agesymbolismengravingcut marksBlombos CaveSouth Africa
Type
Papers
Information
Antiquity , Volume 75 , Issue 288 , June 2001 , pp. 309 - 318
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd. 2001

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