The second oldest artwork in the world dates back to Denisova Man, who lived in Asia in the Paleolithic

The second oldest work of art in the world has been discovered by a team of researchers at the Linjing archaeological site in Henan province, China: two bone fragments engraved with abstract and geometric patterns.

Archaeologists would date the two bone fragments from 105,000 to 125,000 years ago, that is, in the period of the Denisovians, a species that lived during the Middle Paleolithic in East Asia, from Siberia to Southeast Asia.

Traces of ochre-colored pigments, never before found at the archaeological site, were also detected on one of the two fragments. This suggests that the bone was previously dyed elsewhere and highlights a use of the color for decorative purposes.

Luc Doyon, one of the scholars who analyzed the fossil fragments at the Indian Express, said, “This discovery indicates that the production of abstract patterns, apparently for symbolic purposes, was an integral part of the cultures developed by human populations living in China before the emergence of our species, Homo sapiens, in Africa.”

The first evidence for the existence ofDenisova Man dates back to 2010, after fragments of bone and stone bracelets were discovered in a Siberian cave. The Lingjing archaeological site was noticed in 1965 and has been studied continuously since 2005. The two engraved bones have been known to researchers since 2009, but the linear marks were first noticed only in 2016.

Ph.Credit Francesco d’Errico and Luc Doyon

The second oldest artwork in the world dates back to Denisova Man, who lived in Asia in the Paleolithic

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