A keen-eyed archaeologist claims to have found some of the oldest artwork ever - carved faces 200,000 years old.
Gaietto believes the sculpture is 200,000 years old, and would have been used in rituals.
He says it would have been made by an extinct species of human called Homo erectus, of which there is evidence in the region.
Gaietto’s claims are controversial because hominids such as Homo erectus are not thought to have been capable of the symbolic thought needed to create art.
The earliest examples of human artwork that scientists feel confident to describe as such are all less than 100,000 years old. The most notable items are probably the 70,000-year-old engraved ochre pieces found in the Blombos Cave of South Africa.
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HKP-Thought this was rather interesting, could put a new spin on things with relation to human evolution.
Homo erectus was thought to be a primitive, albeit bipedal ape-like creature not at all similar to proto-Homo Sapiens which became extinct some 100-150 000 years ago. Common thought was that it was no more intelligent than an astute orang-utan…you don’t catch many orang-utans chipping away at marble making a bust of a more popular orang-utan.
Is it just me or does that face look like a grey-alien? Great stuff for the conspiracy theorists.