Later Acheulian Marking Motifs II - Other Sites / c)strsklacm4

Stránská Skála, Brno, CZ, c. 600-700,000 BP, elephant vertebrae with 2 converging u-shaped, perhaps natural, lines with a fan of 7 divergent rays of v-shaped grooves as well as pair of symmetrical, natural holes (Valoch 1987).

Caveat: this artifact has only its original site reports and it would be of great interest for it to be reexamined using microscopy, etc. Based on analogous vertebrae D’Errico (1997:14) suggests that even the divergent rays are vascular grooves. Thus the presence or absence of intentional engravings is questionable. Also, the question of whether the object was ‘curated’ has not been addressed. If this object is actually deliberately engraved in whole or part or curated as such, then it would appear to combine or pair both a 'convergent line' motif and a 'divergent line' motif.

Illustrations © Bednarik, R.G. (1995). Concept-mediated marking in the Lower Paleolithic. Current Anthropology 36,4:605-634. Figure 4. Site report: Valoch, K. (1987). The Early Paleolithic site Stránská Skála I near Brno (Czechoslovakia). Anthropologie 25,2: 125-137. D’Errico, F. (1997). Holes and grooves: the contribution of microcscopy and taphonomy to the problem of art origins. Journal of Human Evolution, 33: 1-31.