The Erfoud manuport (300,000-200,000
BP) is a 70 mm long and 35 mm wide (at its widest point) fossilized fragment of a
cuttlefish
Cuttlefish or cuttles are marine molluscs of the order Sepiida. They belong to the class Cephalopoda which also includes squid, octopuses, and nautiluses. Cuttlefish have a unique internal shell, the cuttlebone, which is used for control of ...
resembling naturalistic, life-size, non-erect human
phallus
A phallus is a penis (especially when erect), an object that resembles a penis, or a mimetic image of an erect penis. In art history a figure with an erect penis is described as ithyphallic.
Any object that symbolically—or, more precisel ...
.
The fossil was found in 1984 by Lutz Fiedler of
Marburg University
The Philipps University of Marburg (german: Philipps-Universität Marburg) was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Protestant university in the wor ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, at an
archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
site near the towns of
Erfoud
Erfoud ( ber, ⴰⵔⴼⵓⴷ, Latn, ber, Arfud; ar, أرفود) is an oasis town in the Sahara Desert, in the Drâa-Tafilalet region, eastern Morocco. It is divided into several districts: Hay Salam, Hay Jdid, Hay Ziz, Hay el Bathaa, Hay Annah ...
and
Rissani
Rissani is a town in Errachidia Province in eastern Morocco, located near Erfoud. It is the closest town of significant size to the Erg Chebbi, the largest sand desert in Morocco. Its population in 2004 was 20,469.
The mausoleum of Moulay Ali ...
in eastern
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
. It was located among a dense cluster of
Late Acheulian stone tools. No evidence of carving or shaping have been detected.
While cuttlefish fossils are not themselves rare in other parts of Morocco, they are not native to the region in which the Erfoud manuport was found. It has, therefore, been thought that this fossil was intentionally brought back to the camp due to its natural phallic resemblance, which makes it a candidate for being a
manuport 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 ...
.
However, no further research regarding this artifact has been done.
See also
*
Makapansgat pebble
The Makapansgat pebble or Makapansgat cobble (wikt:circa, ca. 3,000,000 Before Present, BP) is a pebble with natural chipping and wear patterns that make it look like a crude rendition of a human face, in fact at least two possible faces. Some sch ...
References
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External links
Black and white photos by Robert BednarikColored photo by Robert Bednarik
Specific fossil specimens
Quaternary fossil record
Archaeological artifacts
Archaeology of Morocco
Acheulean
1984 archaeological discoveries
Geofacts