First identification of non-human stencil hands at Wadi Sūra II (Egypt): A morphometric study for new insights into rock art symbolism

Abstract

In the Libyan Desert, Wadi Sūra II shelter hosts numerous stencil paintings believed to date to the Early and Mid-Holocene. Tiny hands have previously been considered to belong to human babies. We challenge this identification, having conducted a morphometric study to compare the archaeological material with samples of hands of babies born at term and preterm at the neonatal unit of the CHRU Jeanne de Flandre (Lille, France). The results show that the rock art small hands differ significantly in size, proportions and morphology from human hands. Potential biases between the different samples were quantified, but their average range cannot explain the observed differences. Evidence suggest that the hand stencils belong to an animal, most probably a reptile. The identification of non-human pentadactyl hand stencils is unique in the field of rock art and raises new perspectives for understanding the rock art at Wadi Sūra, and the behaviour and symbolic universe of the populations who made it.

Hand measurement data from human babies at birth, from 26 to 41 weeks estimated gestational age

“…Seven measurements were taken on one hand of each individual with a medical caliper ( [2] , [3] , [4] : Figure 3): W i =width of the second digit (index) measured at the mid phalanx, just above the proximal inter-phalangeal joint. W t =width of the first digit (thumb) measured at the middle of the proximal phalanx.…”

A Purported Pleistocene Sand Sculpture From South Africa

“…For example, stencilling probably involves placing the end of a limb on a surface and then blowing a pigment onto it, thus creating a negative image. Whereas human hands form the commonest example, Honoré et al (2016) claimed that the most likely 'hand' used to create small stencilled images in a Holocene cave in Egypt was probably that of a varanid reptile.…”

Hand stencils and communal history: A case study from Auwim, East Sepik, Papua New Guinea

“…Various studies have focused on the technical aspects of the imagery, such as the hand size and whether the stencil is of a female or male hand (Faurie & Raymond, 2004;Nelson et al, 2006Nelson et al, , 2017Pettitt et al, 2015;Rabazo-Rodríguez et al, 2017;Snow, 2006Snow, , 2013. Some researchers have also attempted to identify the hands of children (e.g., Gunn 2006) and non-humans (e.g., Honoré et al, 2016). Furthermore, there is a growing interest in the dating of hand stencils and other rock art in Island Southeast Asia (e.g., Aubert et al, 2014Aubert et al, , 2018 and Europe (e.g., García-Diezl et al, 2015;Pike et al, 2012) as well as using digital techniques to assist with questions of time and/or chronological phases through evidence of superimpositions (e.g., Carden & Miotti, 2020).…”