Europe's oldest known decorative jewelry found in Polish cave: Forbes

Europe's oldest known piece of decorative jewelry has been found in a Polish cave, according to an article published by Forbes magazine.

The Stajnia Cave in southern Poland.

Photo: Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

In 2010, archeologists found a pendant designed with a row of dots at the Stajnia Cave in southern Poland's Częstochowa Upland region.

This week, researchers announced that the pendant is approximately 41,500 years old, which makes it the oldest decorated piece of jewelry found on the Eurasian continent, the forbes.com article reported.

"Archeologists found a pendant designed with a row of dots at the Stajnia Cave in #Poland (...) At 41,500 years old, this pendant is now the oldest known decorative jewelry found on the Eurasian continent." 😮

A neat discovery in fashion history!https://t.co/zIlS65UtMt

— Embassy of Poland U.S. (@PolishEmbassyUS) November 30, 2021

Researchers used a method known as radiocarbon dating to measure the age of the pendant found at the Stajnia Cave as well as an awl found nearby, which was possibly used to make the decorative pattern in this or similar pendants, according to the Forbes report by Eva Amsen.

The pendant was made of mammoth ivory and the awl from horse bone.

Oldest Known Decorative Jewelry In Eurasia Found In Polish Cave https://t.co/plX5iMpOYH pic.twitter.com/mGOroOBvMx

— Forbes Science (@ForbesScience) November 28, 2021

The pendant dates back to the Paleolithic era when modern humans started to settle across Europe, forbes.com reported.

(gs)

Source: forbes.com