Makapansgat stone

The Makapansgat stone (also: pebble of many faces, Kiesel von Makapansgat , Makapansgat stone) is a 260 gram pebble made of jasperite . The stone has not been processed, but has a naturally created pattern on the top that is clearly reminiscent of a human face.

The stone is of scientific interest because it was found some distance from its possible place of origin, near the remains of Australopithecus africanus . An australopithecine or another hominid must have picked up the stone because he apparently recognized the human face. Therefore, it is discussed whether the Makapansgat stone is an early reference to symbolic thinking or aesthetic perception of the pre-humans. In any case, the stone is considered a candidate for the oldest known Manuport . It has been dated to an age between 2.5 and 2.9 million years.

The teacher Wilfred I. Eitzman found him in 1925 in a Dolerithöhle in Makapantal at today Mokopane , Limpopo , South Africa. In 1974, almost 50 years later, Raymond Dart was the first to describe this find.

See also

• Oldowan
• Prehistoric art
• Venus from Berekhat Ram
• Venus of Tan-Tan
• Venus figurine

Individual evidence

1. ^ Robert G Bednarik: Makapansgat cobble analyzed . University of Melbourne . Archived from the original on March 30, 2003. Retrieved May 14, 2010.
2. ↑ Makapan at eMuseum ( Memento of 3 May 2010 at the Internet Archive ). Website webarchive.org. Retrieved on 2012.
3. ↑ Origins.net: Pebble of many faces

Web links

• R. Bednarik: Manuports and very early palaeoart . Photography and text explain the importance of the find
• Photograph of the stone from Makapansgat