A Howiesons Poort tradition of engraving ostrich eggshell containers dated to 60,000 years ago at Diepkloof Rock Shelter, South Africa

TLDR

Debates on modern human behavior focus on southern African Middle Stone Age artifacts that appear early and reflect symbolic practice, including abstract linear depictions on functional eggshell containers used in daily hunter‑gatherer life. The study reports 270 intentionally marked ostrich eggshell fragments from the Howiesons Poort at Diepkloof Rock Shelter. The fragments exhibit standardized repetitive patterns, such as a hatched band motif, indicating a deliberate symbolic production system. The 60,000‑year‑old engraved ostrich eggshells provide the earliest reliable evidence of a widespread modern symbolic practice, with standardized patterns indicating collective and individual identity expression.

Abstract

Ongoing debates about the emergence of modern human behavior, however defined, regularly incorporate observations from the later part of the southern African Middle Stone Age and emphasize the early appearance of artifacts thought to reflect symbolic practice. Here we report a large sample of 270 fragments of intentionally marked ostrich eggshell from the Howiesons Poort at Diepkloof Rock Shelter, Western Cape, South Africa. Dating from ≈60,000 years ago, these pieces attest to an engraving tradition that is the earliest reliable evidence of what is a widespread modern practice. These abstract linear depictions were made on functional items (eggshell containers), which were curated and involved in daily hunter-gatherer life. The standardized production of repetitive patterns, including a hatched band motif, suggests a system of symbolic representation in which collective identities and individual expressions are clearly communicated, suggesting social, cultural, and cognitive underpinnings that overlap with those of modern people.