The oldest adornments ever found, perforated shells discovered in a limestone cave in eastern Morocco, demonstrate that humans in Africa used symbols 40,000 years before Europe. The small oval Nassarius mollusc shells, some of which were dyed with red ochre, were likely pierced for use in necklaces or bracelets around 82,000 years ago. This discovery in Pigeon's Cave at Taforalt predates similar finds in Algeria, South Africa, and Palestine, according to the Culture Ministry. The find is significant in the study of cultural innovations and their impact on human history. Despite yielding important prehistoric discoveries, such as one of the oldest known dinosaur skeletons, little is known about the humans who lived in Morocco before Berber farmers settled over 2,000 years ago. A group of scientists from Morocco, Britain, France, and Germany discovered and analyzed shells to determine the impact of climate and landscape changes on human behavior from 130,000 to 13,000 years ago. Their research is part of a larger investigation into whether the Strait of Gibraltar served as a pathway or obstacle for early humans migrating between Africa and Europe.