What our ancient ancestors found beautiful 50,000 years ago

Excerpt from news.discovery.com


The

geode (above), described in the latest issue of Comptes Rendus Palevol, was

found in the Cioarei-Boroşteni Cave, Romania. A Neanderthal had painted

it with ochre.


“The Neanderthal man must have certainly attached

an aesthetic importance to it, while its having been painted with ochre

was an addition meant to confer symbolic value,” said Marin Cârciumaru

of Valahia University and colleagues.


The researchers also noted

that “the geode was undoubtedly introduced into the cave by the

Neanderthal,” since they ruled out that it could have originated in the

cave itself.

Was the geode used in rituals, or was it just a

treasured object of beauty? Its precise meaning to the Neanderthal

remains a mystery for now.

Based on archaeological finds, necklaces made out of Spondylus (a spiky, colorful mollusk) were all the rage. (Above)


This

specimen has more of a reddish hue, but Michel Louis Séfériadès of CNRS

notes that most are “a highly colored, very attractive purplish

crimson.” Séfériadès added that the shells were valued, early trade

items and that they are now “found in the archaeological remains of

settlements and cemeteries, in graves, and as isolated finds.”


Some of the shells were made into jewelry, including necklaces and bracelets.

 

We sing about “five gold rings,” but the rings would more likely have

been ivory back in the day — as in around 50,000 years ago, before

ivory-producing animals were mostly hunted to extinction.
Early

humans in northern regions, for example, made rings out of mammoth

ivory. A Neanderthal site at Grotte du Renne, France yielded a carefully

crafted ivory ring (above), as well as grooved and perforated “personal

ornaments,” according to archaeologist Paul Mellars of Cambridge

University.

Charcoal (shown avove), ochre and other materials were applied to the face by early Homo sapiens as well as by other human subspecies. 

The

ochre, used to paint the geode, mentioned earlier, was also used as

makeup, hair dye, paint (to create rock and cave art), as well as to

color garments.

Early humans used combs made out of shells and fish bones to both comb their hair and as personal decoration. (Above)

The

shell from the Venus comb murex, a large predatory sea snail, is just

one species that seems perfect for this purpose. Gibraltar Museum

researchers Clive Finlayson and Kimberley Brown also found evidence that

Neanderthals valued large, elaborate feathers, which the scientists

suspect were worn by the individuals. 

Nearly all early cultures had coveted figurines holding probable

symbolic value. Some of the earliest carved objects are known as “Venus”

figurines. They present women with exaggerated sexual features. Their

exact meaning remains unclear. (Above)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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What our ancient ancestors found beautiful 50,000 years ago