manuport
Sign in to saveA manuport is a natural object that has been deliberately taken from its original environment and relocated without further modification. Typically moved by human hand, some manuports are the result of other hominins. Common manuports include stones, seashells and fossils, which has led archaeologists and anthropologists to conclude they must have been chosen for their beauty. This recognition of an object’s aesthetic character suggests that certain manuports represent some of the earliest examples of art.
~9 min read
Encyclopedic overview
11 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Notable manuports
- Makapansgat cobble
- Erfoud cuttlefish
- Barrow Island chert
- Orange County galena
- Ambiguous manuports
- Spirit Eye Cave pebbles
- Manuport size and hominids
- See also
- References
A manuport is a natural object that has been deliberately taken from its original environment and relocated without further modification. Typically moved by human hand, some manuports are the result of other hominins. Common manuports include stones, seashells and fossils, which has led archaeologists and anthropologists to conclude they must have been chosen for their beauty. This recognition of an object’s aesthetic character suggests that certain manuports represent some of the earliest examples of art.
== Etymology == The earliest attestation of the word manuport is from English in 1966. The term is derived from Latin and literally means "handcarried", from the words , 'by hand' (ablative of , 'hand'), and , 'carried', from , 'to carry'. Compare manuscript, 'written by hand'.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “manuport” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.