France's Vezere Valley site has been found to be the home to a 38,000-year old piece of engraved art. The piece was found by an international team of anthropologists, led by Randall White of New York University. It is believed that the artifact may shed new light on early modern human life.

Like Us on Facebook

The findings belong to Aurignacial culture, which existed nearly 43,000 to 33,000 years ago. The artifact, a slab, comes with complex carvings of an animal, presumably a wild cow, encircled by rows of dots. The piece was first found in 2012.

The Aurignacian culture saw a large number of developments including advent of modern tool making and artistry. The culture is believed to be the foremost representative of the first modern humans settling in the Europe.

Abri Blanchard, the site of the discovery, has been the subject matter of several excavations. An earlier excavation took place in the previous century while the current expedition was started in 2011. The site excavations have resulted in various findings including engravings, paintings, teeth and beads.

The latest item was recovered from a rock shelter at the site. It is reported to have some of the earliest known graphic forms found in western Eurasia. Archaeologists believe that the carvings may provide insights about modern human beings existing at the that time.

The team leader White said, "The discovery sheds new light on regional patterning of art and ornamentation across Europe at a time when the first modern humans to enter Europe dispersed westward and northward across the continent."

He added that the pattern aligns well with the social model of the culture, which saw art as a marker of social identitiy. Abri Blanchard has the distinction of being one of the oldest sites containing modern human artefacts in Europe. The findings of the excavation were published in Quaternary International.