There has long been a group of academics who claim that there was some kind of neurological transformation in the human species that made art and symbolic communication possible, some time between 30,000 and 40,000 years ago. A lack of artful artifacts before that point led these thinkers to conclude that human beings lacked the mental ability to conceive of symbols.
A new finding strongly refutes this hypothesis. engraved ostrich egg shells with two distinct forms of artistic patterns have been found in South Africa, and dated to about 60,000 years ago. A theory about the patterns is that the etchings represented different groups who would have used the egg shells for drinking, and perhaps even carrying water long distances.
It seems that humans have been engaged in complicated forms of symbolic behavior for a very long time, without any relatively recent neurological revolution necessary for the symbolically rich lives we lead today.
