Philobiblon

Two fascinating stories today about human origins.

First, a reason why we might like oysters: a diet of shellfish may have been what kept the first Homo sapiens sapiens going:

The people who lived in high caves at Pinnacle Point, overlooking the Indian Ocean near Mossel Bay[South Africa], harvested and cooked mussels, used red pigment from ground rocks as a form of make-up and made tiny, bladed tools. Experts say they are very likely to be the ancestors of Homo sapiens, the anatomically modern human species which migrated across the world…. and could have used this ability to migrate north by gradually foraging further along the coast, possibly continuing outward migration from Africa with the help of beachcombing.

Then, what is now officially the oldest wall art in the world – 9,000BC, at Djade al-Mughara, north of Aleppo – has been uncovered – and it looks remarkably like the work of Paul Klee. (A reminder that our brains are exactly the same – genetically at least – as the people who painted this – and indeed as the shellfish-hunters.)

(Now that brings up reminders of Aleppo, one of my favourite cities in the world – in part for the wonderful archaeology around it – as I’ve blogged before.)