Archeologists Discover 200,000-Year-Old Children’s Handprints In A Cave

If you are the type of person that looks down as you are walking, you have probably come across your fair share of handprints on the sidewalk. It just seems to be something that is irresistible for little ones. They love leaving their mark any time wet concrete is available.

According to a report in the journal Science Bulletin, that may be a practice that has been done for many millennia.

Archaeologists reported that they discovered the oldest cave art in the world. It appears to be some deliberate handprints and footprints left by two young children. They estimate the age of the handprints and footprints to be 200,000 years old.

Five footprints and five handprints were included in the unusual cave art. The team feels that they belong to a seven-year-old and 12-year-old child. They aren’t really sure who left the prints, but they feel that it may be a Neanderthal or Denisovan.

Regardless of who they were, it’s interesting that they did take the time to press their hands into the soft clay, and eventually, it was fossilized.

It is estimated that this may be the earliest example of cave art ever discovered. According to some estimates, those prints are between 169,000 and 226,000 years old. It is also interesting that the co-author of the study, Thomas Urban, says that the clear definition without slippage shows that they were placed there intentionally.

There were also some who had their doubts and said that the scientific criteria are not necessarily all that they think about, they also think about their faith.

A paleontologist who worked on the study, Eduardo Mayoral, said that it is still important evidence of the earliest known humans on the Tibetian plateau. It also shows that children are children, regardless of how long ago it was.