Red Ochre Stained Snail Shell Beads
Title
Red Ochre Stained Snail Shell Beads
Subject
Paleolithic Jewelry and Beads
Description
Location: Morocco, North Africa
“By taking into account the distance of the coast at that time and the comparison with natural alteration of shells of the same species on today’s beaches, the two scientists inferred that prehistoric humans had selected, transported and very probably perforated the shells and colored them red for a symbolic use. Moreover, some shells showed traces of wear, which suggests that they were used as adornments for a long time: they were very likely worn as necklaces or bracelets, or sewn onto clothes.”
“Recent investigations into the origins of symbolism indicate that personal ornaments in the form of perforated marine shell beads were used in the Near East, North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa at least 35 ka earlier than any personal ornaments in Europe. Together with instances of pigment use, engravings, and formal bone tools, personal ornaments are used to support an early emergence of behavioral modernity in Africa, associated with the origin of our species and significantly predating the timing for its dispersal out of Africa.”
“The first appearance of explicitly symbolic objects in the archaeological record marks a fundamental stage in the emergence of modern social behavior in Homo. Ornaments such as shell beads represent some of the earliest objects of this kind.
“By taking into account the distance of the coast at that time and the comparison with natural alteration of shells of the same species on today’s beaches, the two scientists inferred that prehistoric humans had selected, transported and very probably perforated the shells and colored them red for a symbolic use. Moreover, some shells showed traces of wear, which suggests that they were used as adornments for a long time: they were very likely worn as necklaces or bracelets, or sewn onto clothes.”
“Recent investigations into the origins of symbolism indicate that personal ornaments in the form of perforated marine shell beads were used in the Near East, North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa at least 35 ka earlier than any personal ornaments in Europe. Together with instances of pigment use, engravings, and formal bone tools, personal ornaments are used to support an early emergence of behavioral modernity in Africa, associated with the origin of our species and significantly predating the timing for its dispersal out of Africa.”
“The first appearance of explicitly symbolic objects in the archaeological record marks a fundamental stage in the emergence of modern social behavior in Homo. Ornaments such as shell beads represent some of the earliest objects of this kind.
Source
http://www.pnas.org/content/106/38/16051/F2.expansion.html ; Marine shells found at Moroccan Middle Paleolithic sites and modern shells of the same species. Shells are from: 1–19, Taforalt (Grotte des Pigeons); 20–24, Rhafas; 25, Contrebandiers; 26 and 27, Ifri n'Ammar; 28, modern Nassarius gibbosulus; 29 and 30, modern Nassarius circumcinctus; 31, modern Columbella rustica (see Table S1 for contextual information and analytical data).
We report on examples of perforated Nassarius gibbosulus shell beads from Grotte des Pigeons (Taforalt, Morocco), North Africa. These marine shells come from archaeological levels dated by luminescence and uranium- series techniques to ≈82,000 years ago. They confirm evidence of similar ornaments from other less well-dated sites in North Africa and adjacent areas of southwest Asia. The shells are of the same genus as shell beads from slightly younger levels at Blombos Cave in South Africa. Wear patterns on the shells imply that some of them were suspended, and, as at Blombos, they were covered in red ochre. These findings imply an early distribution of bead making in Africa and southwest Asia at least 40 millennia before the appearance of similar cultural manifestations in Europe.
Abdelialil Bouzouggar, et. al, “82,000-year-old shell beads from North Africa and implications for the origins of modern human behavior,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, United States of America, June 12, 2007, v. 104, no. 24: 9964-9969; http://www.pnas.org/content/104/24/9964.full?sid=a1ca0687-48f1-402f-8a36- 6f816f766fea
Authors:
Abdeljalil Bouzouggar
NickBartonb
Marian Vanhaeren
Francesco d'Errico
Simon Collcutt
Tom Higham
Edward Hodge
Simon Parfitt
Edward Rhodes
Jean-Luc Schwenninger
Chris Stringer
Elaine Turner
Steven Ward
Abdelkrim Moutmir
Abdelhamid Stambouli
We report on examples of perforated Nassarius gibbosulus shell beads from Grotte des Pigeons (Taforalt, Morocco), North Africa. These marine shells come from archaeological levels dated by luminescence and uranium- series techniques to ≈82,000 years ago. They confirm evidence of similar ornaments from other less well-dated sites in North Africa and adjacent areas of southwest Asia. The shells are of the same genus as shell beads from slightly younger levels at Blombos Cave in South Africa. Wear patterns on the shells imply that some of them were suspended, and, as at Blombos, they were covered in red ochre. These findings imply an early distribution of bead making in Africa and southwest Asia at least 40 millennia before the appearance of similar cultural manifestations in Europe.
Abdelialil Bouzouggar, et. al, “82,000-year-old shell beads from North Africa and implications for the origins of modern human behavior,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, United States of America, June 12, 2007, v. 104, no. 24: 9964-9969; http://www.pnas.org/content/104/24/9964.full?sid=a1ca0687-48f1-402f-8a36- 6f816f766fea
Authors:
Abdeljalil Bouzouggar
NickBartonb
Marian Vanhaeren
Francesco d'Errico
Simon Collcutt
Tom Higham
Edward Hodge
Simon Parfitt
Edward Rhodes
Jean-Luc Schwenninger
Chris Stringer
Elaine Turner
Steven Ward
Abdelkrim Moutmir
Abdelhamid Stambouli
Publisher
Dr. Gregory Schaaf
Angie Yan Schaaf
Angie Yan Schaaf
Date
88,000 BC
Contributor
Amanda Pirone
Format
File Format: Image/TIFF
Dimensions: 632 x 333
Dimensions: 632 x 333
Language
English
Type
Art History
Coverage
Morocco, North Africa
Original Format
Jewelry and Beads
Physical Dimensions
1 cm
Citation
“Red Ochre Stained Snail Shell Beads,” Art History of Jewelry and Beads, accessed May 3, 2024, https://amandapirone.omeka.net/items/show/5.