An international team of scientists has discovered the earliest known engravings from human ancestors on a 400,000 year-old fossilised shell from Java.
The discovery is the earliest known example of ancient humans deliberately creating pattern.
"It rewrites human history," said Dr Stephen Munro from School of Archaeology and Anthropology at The Australian National University (ANU).
"This is the first time we have found evidence for Homo erectus behaving this way," he said.