What are the zigzag shell engravings from Trinil?

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Side-view illustration of a Homo erectus individual, depicted with a robust, upright body covered in hair, walking with one arm bent. A scale bar beside the figure shows measurements in inches and centimeters. — Homo erectus Artist's rendering of *Homo erectus*, which lived from approximately 1,700,000 to 200,000 years ago.

The zigzag engravings found at the Trinil site in Java, Indonesia, consist of geometric etchings made on a shell. Dating to between 430,000 and 540,000 years ago, these markings are significant because they may represent the world’s oldest known geometric engravings, suggesting that Homo erectus may have been the first hominin species to create art.1