Archaeologists in Morocco have presented what they say was the oldest jewellery in the world - 33 perforated seashells. Assumed to have formed necklaces and bracelets, the shells were discovered in the Bizmoune cave near the southwestern coastal resort of Essaouira, and dated to between 142,000 and 150,000 years old, extending the dates for the first appearance of this behaviour into the late Middle Pleistocene.
     Ornaments such as beads are among the earliest signs of symbolic behaviour among human ancestors, and their appearance signals important developments in both cognition and social relations.
     Speaking at a press conference organised by the culture ministry, researcher Abdeljalil Bouzouggar said similar ornaments had been found across the Middle East and Africa, from between 35,000 and 135,000 years ago: "These people searched for the same type of seashell despite the existence of many other types. This shows that they shared something. Maybe there was even a language. These objects travelled over huge distances."
     The discovery came after archaeologists in Morocco in September identified clothesmaking tools fashioned from bone dating back 120,000 years - the oldest ever found.
     Bouzouggar also notes that Morocco was the home to some of the oldest Homo sapiens discovered to date; remains of five individuals who died some 315,000 years ago were discovered in 2017.

Edited from PalaeoAnthro.org, Science.org (10 November 2021), The New Arab (18 November 2021), Africa News (22 November 2021)