Archaeologists in Poland have discovered the remains of a 41,500-year-old pendant made of giant ivory, decorated with distinctive marks. It is said that this record is the oldest specimen of jewelry made by modern humans of Eurasia. The pendant, now in two fragments, was found in 2010 during archaeological excavations carried out in the Staznia Cave in Poland. A team of scientists reported in a paper published online on Thursday (November 25) in Scientific Reports that the pendant is 41,500 years old, as evidenced by recent radiocarbon exposure. The decoration of the pendant included more than 50 puncture marks and two holes in a looping curve, the team said in a statement. He notes that each puncture mark represents a successful animal hunt or the circle of the moon or the sun.
Estimation to wear around pendant’s neck “It is the oldest known ornament of its kind in Eurasia and establishes a new date directly linked to the spread of modern Homo sapiens in Europe,” the researchers wrote in the study. The study’s lead researcher, Sahra Talamo, professor of chemistry at the University of Bologna in Italy, who specializes in human evolution and radiocarbon dating, said the pendant was probably worn around the neck but we can’t make any claims about it.
Why did humans wear jewelry in the first place?The researchers said the pendant was created at a time when anatomically modern humans were developing jewelry and other forms of body jewelry for the first time around the world. Talamo said why humans began using jewelry at that time is a mystery researchers are trying to decipher.
,