Archeologists in China have discovered two engraved bones with ochre incisions in a layer dating back between 105,000 and 125,000 years ago, which they say is the earliest evidence of human populations using ochre - an earthy pigment - for symbolic purposes.
     "This discovery indicates that the production of abstract motifs, possibly used for symbolic purposes, was an integral part of the cultures developed by human populations who lived in China contemporary to the emergence of our species, Homo sapiens, in Africa," co-author Luc Doyon, postdoctoral fellow at Shandong University's Institute of Cultural Heritage said.
     The findings are the result of a collaboration between researchers from China, France and Norway led by Li Zhanyang from Shandong University and Francesco d'Errico from Université de Bordeaux. The bones were discovered at the Lingjing site in Xuchang in central China's Henan province, which has been a site of excavation yearly from 2005 to 2018 by a team led by Li. Since 2005, the team has found 45 fragments of human cranial fossils at the site which has since been pieced together and named the 'Xuchang Man'.
     Li said one of the bones discovered there had seven engraved lines with the presence of a red residue. "Based on experimental reproduction and subsequent microscopic analysis, the researchers found the sequential marks were made with different tools and motions. But they have not been able to decipher the meaning of the marks," the scientist stated.
     The population which inhabited the region saw bone as a medium on which they could permanently record sequential markings and used ochre as a way of highlighting them. Doyon said that amongst the key issues in research on cultural evolution is when, where and why prehistoric populations ceased to consider bone as a by-product of butchery and carcass processing activities.
     "Over the last two years, I had the opportunity to be part of a team that documented the discovery of the oldest known bone tools in China, which also were discovered at Lingjing. They consists of bone and antler fragments used to make and resharpen stone tools. The discovery of the engravings now indicates that the people living at this site around 115,000 years ago not only understood the utility of bone for the manufacture of stone tools but considered this raw material as a good medium to permanently record abstract patterns," he said.