Middle Paleolithic Shell Beads in Israel and Algeria

doi:10.1126/science.1128139

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Middle Paleolithic Shell Beads in Israel and Algeria

Marian Vanhaeren,¹^* Francesco d'Errico,²^* Chris Stringer,³ Sarah L. James,⁴ Jonathan A. Todd,³ Henk K. Mienis⁵

Perforated marine gastropod shells at the western Asian siteof Skhul and the North African site of Oued Djebbana indicatethe early use of beads by modern humans in these regions. Theremoteness of these sites from the seashore and a comparisonof the shells to natural shell assemblages indicate deliberateselection and transport by humans for symbolic use. Elementaland chemical analyses of sediment matrix adhered to one Nassariusgibbosulus from Skhul indicate that the shell bead comes froma layer containing 10 human fossils and dating to 100,000 to135,000 years ago, about 25,000 years earlier than previousevidence for personal decoration by modern humans in South Africa.

¹ Centre for the Evolution of Cultural Diversity, University College London, 31–34 Gordon Square, London WC1H OPY, UK. Ethnologie Préhistorique, CNRS UMR 7041, 21 Allée de l'Université, F-92023 Nanterre, France.
² Institut de Préhistoire et de Géologie du Quaternaire, CNRS UMR 5199, Avenue des Facultés, 33405 Talence, France; and Department of Anthropology, George Washington University, Washington, DC.
³ Department of Palaeontology, The Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK.
⁴ Department of Mineralogy, The Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK.
⁵ Department of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, 69978 Tel Aviv, Israel.

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: m.vanhaeren{at}ucl.ac.uk (M.V.); f.derrico{at}ipgq.u-bordeaux1.fr (F.D.)

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NEWS OF THE WEEK ARCHAEOLOGY: First Jewelry? Old Shell Beads Suggest Early Use of Symbols: Michael Balter (23 June 2006)
Science 312 (5781), 1731. [DOI: 10.1126/science.312.5781.1731]
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