A miniature bird sculpted out of burnt bone in China around 13,500 years ago is the oldest known figurine from East Asia, according to a research published in the Plos One journal.
The carved artwork was found among burnt animal remains and fragments of ceramics at Lingjing in north-central Henan province, an area thought to have been home to some of China's earliest civilizations. The figurine is the "oldest known carving from East Asia", said Francesco D'Errico of the University of Bordeaux.
"It shows that in this region sculpture starts at least 13,500 years ago, and fills in a gap in our knowledge about the origin of art in this vast region," he told AFP. The tiny carving was discovered by lead author Zhanyang Li, who has been excavating parts of the Lingjing site since 2005. Digging in the area had already revealed 11 distinct layers, ranging in age from 120,000 years ago to the Bronze Age. The carving is just 19.2 millimeters long, 5.1 mm wide and 12.5 mm high.
Researchers were unable to use radiocarbon dating on the artwork itself because the process would have damaged it. But they dated similar bones found with it. In this way they estimated the age of the carving to be 13,500 years, which they said predates previously known figurines from this region by almost 8,500 years.
