page_title: Diepkloof Rock Shelter
hierarchical_section_title: Diepkloof Rock Shelter
caption_attribution_description: English: detail of the excavation in Diepkloof Rock Shelter site, South Africa Français&#160;: détail de la fouille dans le site de Diepkloof, Afrique du Sud
context_page_description: Diepkloof Rock Shelter is a rock shelter in Western Cape, South Africa in which has been found some of the earliest evidence of the human use of symbols, in the form of patterns engraved upon ostrich eggshell water containers. These date around 60,000 years ago.
  The symbolic patterns consist of lines crossed at right angles or oblique angles by hatching. It has been suggested that "by the repetition of this motif, early humans were trying to communicate something. Perhaps they were trying to express the identity of the individual or the group."
context_section_description: Diepkloof Rock Shelter is a rock shelter in Western Cape, South Africa in which has been found some of the earliest evidence of the human use of symbols, in the form of patterns engraved upon ostrich eggshell water containers. These date around 60,000 years ago.
  The symbolic patterns consist of lines crossed at right angles or oblique angles by hatching. It has been suggested that "by the repetition of this motif, early humans were trying to communicate something. Perhaps they were trying to express the identity of the individual or the group."
caption: Excavation of the upper part of the deposit
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