Berger Lee R, Hawks John, Fuentes Agustín, Van Rooyen Dirk, Tsikoane Mathabela, Mpete Maropeng, Nkwe Samuel, Molopyane Keneiloe
The National Geographic Society, Washington DC, United States.
Centre for the Exploration of the Deep Human Journey, School of Anatomical Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Elife. 2025 Jul 22;12:RP89102. doi: 10.7554/eLife.89102.
The production of painted, etched, or engraved designs on cave walls or other surfaces is recognized as a major cognitive step in human evolution. Such intentional designs, which are widely interpreted as signifying, recording, and transmitting information in a durable manner, were once considered exclusive to Late Pleistocene . Here we present observations of what appear to be engraved abstract patterns and shapes within the Dinaledi Subsystem of the Rising Star cave system in South Africa, incised into the dolomitic limestone walls of the cave. The markings described here are found on a pillar in the Hill Antechamber that extends into the natural fissure corridor that links the two chambers, and we associate them with . They include deeply impressed lines, cross-hatchings, percussion marks, and other geometric shapes on flat wall surfaces and in and around existing cracks and grooves in the dolomitic limestone walls, found in one specific location of the Dinaledi Subsystem. Remains of multiple are found in this part of the cave system, and evidence of mortuary behavior appears in both the Dinaledi Chamber and adjacent Hill Antechamber dated to between 241 and 335 ka (Dirks et al., 2017; Robbins et al., 2021; Berger et al., 2025).
在洞穴墙壁或其他表面绘制、蚀刻或雕刻图案被认为是人类进化中的一个重要认知阶段。这种有意的图案，被广泛解释为以持久的方式表示、记录和传递信息，曾经被认为是晚更新世独有的。在这里，我们展示了在南非新星洞穴系统的迪纳莱迪子系统内似乎是雕刻的抽象图案和形状的观察结果，这些图案被刻在洞穴的白云质石灰岩壁上。这里描述的标记位于前室山丘的一根柱子上，该柱子延伸到连接两个洞穴的天然裂缝走廊中，我们将它们与……联系起来。它们包括在白云质石灰岩壁的平坦壁面上以及现有裂缝和凹槽内及周围的深深压痕、交叉阴影线、敲击痕迹和其他几何形状，这些都发现于迪纳莱迪子系统的一个特定位置。在洞穴系统的这一部分发现了多个……的遗迹，并且在可追溯到24.1万至33.5万年前的迪纳莱迪洞穴和相邻的前室山丘中都出现了丧葬行为的证据（德克斯等人，2017年；罗宾斯等人，2021年；伯杰等人，2025年）。
