Python Cave sits on the northern side of Botswana's Tsodilo Hills, not the Sadillo Hills. Archaeologist Sheila Coulson led the study of a rock resembling a giant python, bearing cupules interpreted as scales. Thousands of spear points and stone tools were recovered; Coulson interprets some burned and broken pieces as ritual offerings decommissioned over generations. She argues that the roughly 70,000-year-old finds may be the earliest evidence of symbolic behavior and organized ritual among Homo sapiens. The site lies near a route associated with the migration out of Africa, and Coulson compares its python motif with San community mythology about a great python creator. 🐍⛏️
Coulson links 70,000-year-old Python Cave finds to ritual in Botswana's Tsodilo Hills
Site mentioned
📍 Python Cave
Key facts
- Python Cave is on the northern side of the Tsodilo Hills in Botswana, not the Sadillo Hills.
- Sheila Coulson led the study of the site, which contains a rock resembling a giant python with cupules interpreted as scale marks.
- Thousands of spear points and stone tools were recovered; Coulson interprets some burned and broken pieces as ritual offerings decommissioned over generations.
- Coulson argues that the roughly 70,000-year-old finds may represent the earliest evidence of symbolic behavior and organized ritual among Homo sapiens.
- The Tsodilo Hills lie in southern Africa near routes associated with the migration out of Africa.
- Coulson compares the site's python motif with mythology recorded among living San communities about a great python creator.
Sources
archive.org
Linked in video description
mythopedia.com
Linked in video description
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