In the Western Cape of South Africa, the rock shelter of Diepkloof has revealed one of the world's oldest, most expansive, and continuous traditions of graphic communication. Associated with the Howiesons Poort lithic industry dating back between 55,000 and 65,000 years ago , excavations recovered thousands of fragments of thick, mineralized ostrich eggshells ( Struthio camelus ) . Crucially, these fragments were not kitchen waste; they were the shattered remains of a highly standardized system