Dickinsonia fossil

#GS 01 Ancient History, #GS 03 Science and Technology

Dickinsonia is Earth’s ‘oldest animal’, dating back 570 million years which typically resembles a bilaterally symmetrical ribbed oval.
Dickinsonia is believed to be an animal due to the discovery of cholesterol molecules in fossils of Dickinsonia.
It is an extinct genus of basal animal that lived during the late Ediacaran period in what is now Australia, Russia and Ukraine.
The species was named after Ben Dickinson, then Director of Mines for South Australia by Reg Sprigg, the original discoverer of the Ediacaran biota in Australia.
While its affinities are presently unknown; its mode of growth is consistent with a stem-group bilaterian affinity.
However, some have suggested that it belongs to the fungi or even an “extinct kingdom”.
Three fossils believed to have been of Dickinsonia was found on the roof of the Bhimbetka Rock Shelters.
However, a closer look at the site revealed the apparent fossil to really be wax smeared on a rock by a beehive.

The Bhimbetka rock shelters are an archaeological site located in Madhya Pradesh and spans the prehistoric Paleolithic and Mesolithic periods, as well as the historic period.
It exhibits the earliest traces of human life in India which can be traced back to the Stone Age starting at the site in Acheulian times.
The caves are located in the Raisen District in Madhya Pradesh about 45 kilometres (28 mi) south-east of Bhopal.
It consists of seven hills and over 750 rock shelters distributed over 10 km (6.2 mi) and was declared as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2013.
Some of the shelters are believed to have been inhabited more than 100,000 years ago.
Some of the Bhimbetka rock shelters feature prehistoric cave paintings while the earliest ones are about 10,000 years old (c. 8,000 BCE), corresponds to the Indian Mesolithic period.
These cave paintings show themes such as animals, early evidence of dance and hunting.
The Bhimbetka rock shelters were discovered by V S Wakankar 64 years ago.

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