News Humans

Engraved bones reveal that symbolism had ancient roots in East Asia

Denisovans might have created line patterns more than 100,000 years ago in what’s now northern China

Chinese bone engravings

SYMBOL LIFE  These two bone fragments found in northern China contain engraved lines, some marked with red pigment (red dots in left line drawing), making them the oldest examples of symbolic behavior in East Asia, researchers say.

F. d’Errico and L. Doyon, Antiquity 2019

By Bruce Bower

- More than 2 years ago

Lines engraved between 125,000 and 105,000 years ago on two animal bones found in northern China held some sort of meaning for their makers, researchers say.