Experimental Study of Ostrich Eggshell Beads Collected from Shuidonggou (SDG) Site, China

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Craft and Technology: Knowledge of the Ancient Chinese Artisans" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Ostrich eggshell beads and fragments collected from the Shuidonggou (SDG) site reflect primordial art and a kind of symbolic behavior of modern humans. Based on stratigraphic data and OSL dating, these ostrich eggshell beads date to the Early Holocene (less than 10 ka BP). Two different prehistoric manufacturing pathways are usually used in the manufacture of ostrich eggshell beads in Upper Paleolithic. In Pathway 1, blanks are drilled prior to being trimmed to rough discs. Statistical analysis of the characteristics of ostrich eggshell beads indicate that Pathway 1 was used to make the SDG beads, which exhibit great potential for the study of the origin of primordial art and the development of ancient cultures. They also provide important data for studying behavioral options adopted by hominids in SDG area, and bear important implications for the origin of modern humans in East Asia.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)   •
• Craft and Technology: Knowledge of the Ancient Chinese Artisans

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 25955