The manufacture of geometric engravings is generally interpreted as indicative of modern cognition and behaviour. Key questions in the debate on the origin of such behaviour are whether this innovation is restricted to Homo sapiens, and whether it has a uniquely African origin. Here we report on a fossil freshwater shell assemblage from the Hauptknochenschicht ('main bone layer') of Trinil (Java, Indonesia), the type locality of Homo erectus discovered by Eugène Dubois in 1891 (refs 2 and 3). In the Dubois collection (in the Naturalis museum, Leiden, The Netherlands) we found evidence for freshwater shellfish consumption by hominins, one unambiguous shell tool, and a shell with a geometric engraving. We dated sediment contained in the shells with (40)Ar/(39)Ar and luminescence dating methods, obtaining a maximum age of 0.54 ± 0.10 million years and a minimum age of 0.43 ± 0.05 million years. This implies that the Trinil Hauptknochenschicht is younger than previously estimated. Together, our data indicate that the engraving was made by Homo erectus, and that it is considerably older than the oldest geometric engravings described so far. Although it is at present not possible to assess the function or meaning of the engraved shell, this discovery suggests that engraving abstract patterns was in the realm of Asian Homo erectus cognition and neuromotor control.

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A study of mine dump material from Koberg, Bergslagen, Sweden has revealed a varied mineral assemblage, including Zr-, REE-, Th- and U-bearing minerals associated with the sulphide ore deposit. Detailed descriptions and microprobe analyses are presented of the rare earth minerals yttrian zirconolite and allanite-(Ce), and the zirconium oxide baddeleyite. Yttrian zirconolite is patchily zoned in the actinide elements Th and U, and the low analytical totals suggest the presence of several weight per cent of H2O. The implications of these features with respect to synthetic zirconolite in SYNROC and to radioactive waste management are briefly discussed. Chemical zoning of individual REE in yttrian zirconolite is described and the REE distribution compared with those of zirconolites from other localities. Allanite-(Ce) is generally unzoned, but contains REE-rich rims which are considered to be sub-micron intergrowths of allanite plus a bastnäisite-type mineral phase. The MgO content of allanite-(Ce) is unusually high and appears to be a characteristic feature of allanite from other cerium and mineral occurrences of Central Sweden. The rare earth minerals at Koberg are interpretated as having been formed as a result of localized remobilization of elements including Ti and Zr with H2O- and CO2-rich fluids.