New Delhi, April 29 : Archaeologists in China have claimed the identification of the country's earliest known carving, which is a deer antler sculpted into the shape of a bird, dating back 12,000 to 15,000 years.
The fossilized grey figurine, which is 2.1 centimeters long, 1.2 centimeters high and 0.6 centimeters thick, was found in Xuchang County in China's central Henan Province in March.
It is made from evenly-heated antler, and vividly carved with amicrolithic cutting tool.
"The carving technique is more exquisite than the western carvings of its time," said Li Zhanyang, head of the archeological team in Xuchang, and a researcher with the Henan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology.