Manuport facts for kids

In archaeology and anthropology, a manuport is a natural object which has been moved from its original place by a person but otherwise remains unmodified. The word derives from the Latin words manus, meaning "hand" and portare, meaning "to carry".

Examples include stones or shells moved from coast or river areas or pebbles found in alien geological contexts. Some have been attributed to pre-human hominines that may have been pleasingly shaped natural objects such as the Makapansgat pebble, as well as to later societies.

The appearance of the first manuport, the Makapansgat pebble with distinctive "staring eyes" markings and facial features deposited by hominid in a dolerite cave in Makapansgat, South Africa, may date as early as 3,000,000 BC.

Manuports have also been used to support the theory of the Bering Land Bridge.