Archaeologists discover what might be the oldest known image on Earth


The oldest images in the world might have been discovered in France — and they're made of "pixels."
Archaeologists have uncovered 16 stones in a prehistoric camp in France's Vézère Valley, where people belonging to the earliest modern human culture in Europe used to live, The Independent reports. The images on the stones illustrate mammoths and wild cows using a technique shared by computers and televisions, in which a picture is formed using an arrangements of tiny dots. The images from Vézère are estimated to be 38,000 years old.
"It's not so much the final effect that we found interesting, it's the conception of it — the use of individual points to form the body or the outline of a figure," explained New York University Professor Randall White to The Independent. "If you look carefully at the aurochs, there's really a significant control of the line."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The technique of creating an image from small dots would be used again thousands of years later by "pointillists" such as Vincent van Gogh and Georges Seurat. But the images on the prehistoric stones date back to a "very early [time] when people [were] really just beginning to grapple with the production of images," White said. "They have mastered some of the fundamental aspects of line and shape, but there's clearly a long way to go in terms of precise reproductions."
"It's almost digital in its nature," White said. "Why this fixation on dots? I'll admit it's a puzzle."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
Make mine a soju and tonic: the rise of Korea's favourite spirit
The Week Recommends The rice-based drink can replace gin or vodka in traditional cocktails for a refreshing twist on the classics
-
The full moon calendar for every month
In depth When to see the lunar phenomenon every month
-
The end of WeightWatchers
Talking Point The diet brand has filed for bankruptcy in the US as it struggles to survive in era of weight-loss jabs
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster show
Speed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top Grammys
Speed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own room
Speed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talks
Speed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tour
Speed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamation
Speed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia