Ref ID:	27815
Ref Type:	Journal Article
Authors:	Henshilwood, C.S. d'Errico, F. Yates, R. Jacobs, Z. Tribolo, C. Uller, G.A.T. Mercier, N. Sealy, J.C. Valladas, H. Watts, I. Wintle, A.G.
Title:	Emergence of modern human behavior: engravings of modern middle stone age from South Africa
Date:	2002
Source:	Science
DOI:	10.1126/science.1067575
Abstract:	In the Eurasian Upper Paleolithic after about 35,000 years ago, abstract or depictional images provide evidence for cognitive abilities considered integral to modern human behavior. Here we report on two abstract representations engraved on pieces of red ochre recovered from the Middle Stone Age layers at Blombos Cave in South Africa. A mean 77,000 years was obtained for the layers containing the engraved ochres by thermoluminescence dating of burnt lithics, and the stratigraphic integrity was confirmed by an optically stimulated luminescence age of 70,000 years on an overlying dune. These engravings support the emergence of modern human behavior in Africa at least 35,000 years before the start of the Upper Paleolithic.
Date Created:	2/3/2016
Volume:	295
Number:	5558
Page Start:	1278
Page End:	1280