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A shark-tooth ornament from Pleistocene Sahul

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Matthew G. Leavesley
Matthew G. Leavesley*
Affiliation:
Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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Extract

The tooth of a tiger shark, perforated to make a pendant, was lost in New Ireland, New Guinea between 39500 and 28000 years ago. The author argues that this has to be the work of anatomically modern humans, and implies the use of symbolic language not only across the former continent of Sahul, but also Eurasia.

Keywords

PleistoceneSahulAustralasiaNew GuineaNew Irelandornamentshark
Type
Research
Information
Antiquity , Volume 81 , Issue 312 , 1 June 2007 , pp. 308 - 315
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd. 2007

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