Pseudodon shell DUB1006-fL
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| Pseudodon shell DUB1006-fL | |
|---|---|
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| Material | Pseudodon seashell |
| Created | c. 485,000 years ago by Homo erectus |
| Discovered | East Java, Indonesia |
| Discovered by | Eugene Dubois |
The Pseudodon shell DUB1006-fL or Pseudodon DUB1006-fL is a fossil shell of the freshwater bivalve Pseudodon vondembuschianus trinilensis found at the Trinil site in Java, Indonesia. The shell bears a zigzag-patterned engraving supposedly made by Homo erectus, which could be the oldest known anthropogenic engraving in the world.[1]
The shell is a part of an assemblage of fossil freshwater mussel shells, excavated by the Dutch paleoanthropologist and geologist Eugène Dubois in the 1890s from the Pleistocene layer of the Trinil site, Java, Indonesia. The assemblage, including the shell DUB1006-fL, is currently kept at the Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Geometric engravings on the shell DUB1006-fL were discovered by biologist Josephine Joordens (then at Leiden University) and her colleagues in 2014. Their analysis suggests that the engravings were made by Homo erectus between 540,000 and 430,000 BP. The engravings were probably made on a freshly obtained shell using a shark tooth. It is also suggested that all the grooves were made by a single individual during a single session using the same tool.[1]
Interpretation
Joordens et al. do not give a direct interpretation of the engravings, but suggest that "engraving abstract patterns was in the realm of Asian Homo erectus cognition and neuromotor control."[1] In her interview, Joordens says that since the intentions of the individual who made the engravings are not known, it is not possible to classify these engravings as art.[2] "It could have been to impress his girlfriend, or to doodle a bit, or to mark the shell as his own property," says Joordens.[2]