From “Anthropologists Discover Earliest Form of Wall Art” (ScienceDaily, May 14, 2012), we learn,
Anthropologists working in southern France have determined that a 1.5 metric ton block of engraved limestone constitutes the earliest evidence of wall art. …
The research team, composed of more than a dozen scientists from American and European universities and research institutions, has been excavating at the site of the discovery — Abri Castanet — for the past 15 years. Abri Castanet and its sister site Abri Blanchard have long been recognized as being among the oldest sites in Eurasia bearing artifacts of human symbolism. Hundreds of personal ornaments have been discovered, including pierced animal teeth, pierced shells, ivory and soapstone beads, engravings, and paintings on limestone slabs.
“Early Aurignacian humans functioned, more or less, like humans today,” explained New York University anthropology professor Randall White, one of the study’s co-authors. “They had relatively complex social identities communicated through personal ornamentation, and they practiced sculpture and graphic arts.”
Aurignacian culture existed until approximately 28,000 years ago.
Makes you wonder what happened to them