Manuport

In archaeology and anthropology, a manuport is a natural object which has been moved from its original context by human agency but otherwise remains unmodified.[1]

Examples include stones or shells moved from coastal or riverine areas or pebbles found in alien geological contexts. Some have been attributed to early hominins applying significance to pleasingly shaped natural objects such as the Makapansgat pebble, as well as to later societies.

The appearance of the oldest possible manuport, the Makapansgat pebble with distinctive "staring eyes" and facial features supposedly deposited by hominins in a dolerite cave in Makapansgat, South Africa, may date as early as 3,000,000 BP.[2] Another possible manuport is the Erfoud manuport resembling a human phallus, found near Erfoud, Morocco, and dating 300,000-200,000 BP.[3] No further research regarding these artifacts has been done so far, so it remains unclear whether they are indeed manuports or simply occurred in corresponding archeological deposits by chance.

Etymology

The earliest attestation of the word manuport is from English in 1966.[4] The term is derived from the Latin words manus, meaning ‘hand’ and portare, meaning ‘carry’.

See also

References
  1. Leakey, Mary (1979). Olduvai Gorge. London: Book Club Associates. p. 60.
  2. Bednarik, Robert G. (1998). "The 'Australopithecine' Cobble from Makapansgat, South Africa". South African Archaeological Bulletin. 53 (167): 4–8. doi:10.2307/3889256. JSTOR 3889256.
  3. Bednarik, Robert (2002). "An Acheulian palaeoart manuport from Morocco". Rock Art Research. 19 (2).
  4. "Oxford English Dictionary". manuport. March 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.