51,000-year-old engraved giant deer phalanx discovered in Germany's Harz Mountains at Einhornhöhle cave contains deliberate slash marks, suggesting early symbolic behavior in Neanderthals. Researchers found the bone in 2019 and announced the discovery in 2021.
51,000-year-old deer bones show primitive math
South AfricaTheory
Site mentioned
Key facts
- 51,000-year-old deer bones from Harz mountains of Germany contain slash marks
- Blombos Cave in South Africa has 80,000-year-old stone with hash marks
- Hohle Fels cave in Germany has 40,000-year-old tally sticks
- These artifacts likely represent primitive counting systems for portions and trade
- Bones may have been used as trading tokens between tribes
- Archaeologists incorrectly label these as art rather than mathematics
Sources
Giant deer bone of Einhornhöhle - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
The Giant deer bone of Einhornhöhle is a piece of art made in the Middle Paleolithic period by Neanderthals. Dated to 51,000 years ago, the piece is the oldest ...
A 51,000-year-old carved bone is one of the world's oldest works of ...nbcnews.com
The discovery highlights that Neanderthals were capable of symbolic thought — something once attributed only to our own species.
A tiny bone is changing how we think about Neanderthals | CNNcnn.com
The tiny piece of bone that once belonged to a giant Ice Age deer features a chevron design and is changing how we think about Neanderthals.
A 51000-year-old engraved bone reveals Neanderthals ... - PubMedpubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Here we report on the discovery of an at least 51,000-year-old engraved giant deer phalanx found at the former cave entrance of Einhornhöhle, ...
One of the world's first art objects? Tiny 51000-year-old deer bone ...theartnewspaper.com
A mysterious bone discovered in a cave in Germany inscribed with ten deep, slanting lines may be a work of art created by Neanderthals, say ...
Was this story useful?
Keep exploring
Every site on this page sits on the globe, and the people who research them are on the Discord.
3D Globe · Sites by country · Story Archive · Research Library · Weekly Journal · Search
AI-generated text · images from the original sources · always verify with the sources.