Old Stone AgeCulture & Arts Blombos Cave engravings and beads c. 75,000 years agoMajor Cross-hatched ochre and shell beads in South Africa are among the earliest known abstract symbols. ▲ MattersSaveShareTrace roots Longest chain: The Big Bang → First stars ignite → Supernovae seed heavy elements → The Sun forms → Earth forms → First oceans → First life → Photosynthesis evolves → Great Oxidation Event → Complex cells (eukaryotes) → Multicellular life → First animals → Cambrian Explosion → First vertebrates → Jawed fish → Fish walk onto land → The amniotic egg → The Great Dying → Dinosaurs appear → Asteroid ends the dinosaurs → Early primates → Apes split from monkeys → Human line splits from chimpanzees → Walking upright → First stone tools → Genus Homo appears → Homo erectus → Control of fire → Habitual fire and cooking → Homo sapiens appears → Pigments and symbols → Blombos Cave engravings and beads Community notesLoading notes… Learn more ranked by votesDocumenthumanorigins.si.eduBlombos ocher plaque (Smithsonian Human Origins) ↗Editor's pickDocumentsciencenews.orgEngraved pigments point to ancient symbolic tradition (Science News) ↗Editor's pickBookRichard G. Klein and Blake EdgarThe Dawn of Human Culture ↗Editor's pickVideoSearch on YouTubeBlombos Cave engravings explained ↗Editor's pick