This 13 500-year-old Figurine Carved From Burned Mammal Bone Is The Oldest Known Chinese Sculpture

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This tiny bird statuette is the oldest known example of 3D Chinese art.

Francesco d'Errico and Luc Doyon


A tiny piece of burned bone carved into the shape of a bird is extending the tradition of Chinese sculptural art back by thousands of years. 
An international team of researchers led by archaeologist [ Zhanyang Li] of Shandong University in China investigated a statuette recovered from the Lingjing paleolithic site in China's Henan province. The researchers say it depicts a standing bird and phượng hoàng cổ trấn shows clear signs of having been worked by human hands. 




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The team dated the figurine to around 13,500 years ago and phượng hoàng cổ trấn published a [ detailed study of the sculpture in the journal PLOS ONE] this week. 

"This discovery identifies an original artistic tradition and pushes back by more than 8,500 years the representation of birds in Chinese art," the authors said in a release on Wednesday.