Oldowan - NW Europe / o) monkeyheads, Pampau, VOA-OA

Comment: Identified by Ursel Benekendorff as monkey heads. From Mindle glacial moraine, > 400,000 BP, Ohle gravel pit, Pampau, Germany. Flint, apparently a repetitive, stereotypical shape in NW Europe. Shown here for comparison to the Oldowan 'possible' baboonhead from FLK North, Olduvai Gorge, c. 1.8 MYA. If identifications are correct, this suggests a long survival of this symbolic tradition from the Oldowan into the Old or Very Old Acheulian. For more examples of monkeyheads from NW Europe, see EP Gallery #6: 4GroßPampau: Primates.

Photo © Ursel Benekendorff. Collection - Ursel Benekendorff.