Tiny songbird is East Asia's 'oldest' carved artworkThe carving was found among burnt animal remains and fragments of ceramics at a site in north central Henan province. PARIS: A miniature bird sculpted out of burnt bone in China around 13,500 years ago is the oldest known figurine from East Asia, according to researchers who discovered it in a refuse heap near an archaeological site. The figurine is the "oldest known carving from East Asia", said Francesco D'Errico of the University of Bordeaux, who co-authored the research published in the journal PLOS One on Wednesday. That dumping area was still intact years later, and when the authors sifted through the soil they found several artefacts, including pottery shards, burned animal remains and the bird figurine. While three-dimensional portable art has been documented in Europe dating back some 40,000 years, the researchers said the Lingjing bird was the oldest such example found in East Asia.

Source: Bangkok Post June 10, 2020 18:11 UTC