Australopithecus africanus. Human evolution project.

Inhabited South Africa 3,6-2,1 milion years ago. A species whose study has provided very valuable information about human evolution, though it is unsure if its is directly ancestral to the genus Homo. What the female is holding in her hands here is the Makapansgat Peeble, a cobble that shows erosion carvings similar to humanoid faces. It was found among A. africanus fossils in a cave, and is theorized to have been brought there from a river by them. Maybe they could identify the faces and were interested in keeping it. As far as I know, pareidolia has been studied on a macaque, though I couldnt find anything about great apes. This peeble could be the first archaeological proof of symbolic thinking.