BBC Science: 'Oldest sculpture' found in Morocco
By Paul Rincon
Friday, 23 May, 2003 A 400,000-year-old stone object unearthed in Morocco could be the world's
oldest attempt at sculpture. That is the claim of a prehistoric art specialist who says the ancient rock
bears clear signs of modification by humans. The object, which is around six centimetres in length, is shaped like a human
figure, with grooves that suggest a neck, arms and legs. On its surface are
flakes of a red substance that could be remnants of paint. The object was found 15 metres below the eroded surface of a terrace on the
north bank of the river Draa near the town of Tan-Tan. It was reportedly lying
just a few centimetres away from stone handaxes in ground layers dating to the
Middle Acheulian period, which lasted from 500,000 to 300,000 years ago. Cultural controversy The find is likely to further fuel a vociferous debate over the timing of
humanity's discovery of symbolism. Hominids such as Homo heidelbergensis and
Homo erectus, that were alive during the Acheulian period, are not thought to
have been capable of the symbolic thought needed to create art. Writing in the journal Current Anthropology, Robert Bednarik, president of
the International Federation of Rock Art Organisations (IFRAO), suggests that
the overall shape of the Tan-Tan object was fashioned by natural processes. But he argues that conspicuous grooves on the surface of the stone, which
appear to emphasise its humanlike appearance, are partially man-made. Mr.
Bednarik claims that some of these grooves were made by repeated battering with
a stone tool to connect up natural depressions in the rock. "What we've got is a piece of stone that is largely naturally shaped. "It has some modifications, but they are more than modifications,"
Mr. Bednarik told BBC News Online. Mr. Bednarik tried to replicate the markings on a similar piece of rock by
hitting a stone flake with a "hammerstone" in the manner of a punch.
He then compared the microscopic structure of the fractures with those of the
Tan-Tan object. Sceptic's view However, Professor Stanley Ambrose of the University of Illinois,
Urbana-Champaign said he saw no evidence for tool marks and that, although the
figure was evocative, it was most likely the result of "fortuitous natural
weathering". "He [Mr. Bednarik] has effectively presented all the information
necessary to show this is a naturally weathered rock," Professor Ambrose
told BBC News Online. Professor Ambrose points to Mr. Bednarik's observation that some rocks in the
vicinity of the figure were weathered and even rounded from transport by water.
Professor Ambrose believes that rocks and artifacts found at the site could have
been disturbed by flowing water in the past. Mr. Bednarik also observes that flecks of a greasy substance containing iron
and manganese on the surface of the stone could be red ochre, a substance used
as paint by later humans. "They [the specks] do not resemble corroded natural iron deposits, nor
has any trace of this pigment been detected on any of the other objects I have
examined from Tan-Tan," writes Mr. Bednarik in the paper. A 200,000-300,000-year-old stone object found at Berekhat Ram in Israel in
1986 has also been the subject of claims that it is a figurine. However, several
other researchers later presented evidence that it was shaped by geological
processes. The Tan-Tan object was discovered in 1999, during a dig directed by Lutz
Fiedler, the state archaeologist of Hesse in Germany. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3047383.stm
The figurine
was found 15 metres below ground
Stone handaxes
like these were found close to the figurine
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