These are four views from different angles of a perforated Nassarius gibbosulus shell found at an archaeological site in Oued Djebbana, Algeria. The shell may be as much as 100,000 years old. The scale bar represents 1 centimeter, or half an inch. WASHINGTON - Three ancient shells that were forgotten for decades, hidden among rocks and bones in dusty museum archives, may be the world’s oldest known beads, according to a new study.
The shells, originally collected from Israel and Algeria, could be as many as 100,000 years old, and each has a hole through its center, suggesting it was worn as jewelry.
The researchers who rediscovered the shells say they add to a growing body of evidence that symbolic thinking emerged much earlier than previously thought.
The shells, originally collected from Israel and Algeria, could be as many as 100,000 years old, and each has a hole through its center, suggesting it was worn as jewelry.
The researchers who rediscovered the shells say they add to a growing body of evidence that symbolic thinking emerged much earlier than previously thought.
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