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, seashells and fossils, which has led archaeologists and anthropologists to conclude they must have been chosen for their beauty. This recognition of an object’s aesthetic character suggests that certain manuports represent some of the earliest examples of art.
Etymology
The earliest attestation of the word manuport is from English in 1966. The term is derived from Latin and literally means "handcarried", from the words , 'by hand' (ablative of , 'hand'), and , 'carried', from , 'to carry'. Compare manuscript, 'written by hand'.
Notable manuports
thumb|The Makapansgat cobble with its distinct 'face'.
Makapansgat cobble
The Makapansgat cobble was first discovered in the 1920s during excavations at an archaeological site in the Makapan Valley, South Africa. Chert is a traditional toolstone and other chert artifacts found on Barrow Island have been modified to be used as a blade.
Orange County galena
Sometime around 2006, a galena manuport was discovered in a cave in the San Joaquin Hills, California. Galena, or lead sulfide, has long been used as a mineral pigment by the local indigenous communities of what is now Southern California. The mineral has a naturally metallic sheen and can appear as lead-colored or dark silver when applied as paint. The cave the manuport was discovered in contains prehistoric rock art, for which galena was commonly used. There is no set criteria for determining a manuport and this designation is often provided at the researcher’s discretion.
Spirit Eye Cave pebbles
In a 2019 excavation in West Texas, archeologists uncovered 799 possible manuports from inside Spirit Eye Cave. A collection of 176 manuports found in Olduvai, Tanzania are believed to have been deposited sometime around 1.8mya.