You are looking at a very old stone bracelet. Discovered in Siberia, it was made during the Upper Paleolithic period, a prehistoric period of cultural innovation, tool development and art creation that lasted from about 50,000 to 12,000 years ago. Experts date this bracelet to about 40,000 years ago though it looks so modern, it could be passed off as a contemporary work.

The Upper Paleolithic saw the appearance of early Home Sapiens (specifically, the Cro-Magnon people) who lived in Europe during the last Ice Age. But they weren’t the only species of humans at that time. There were also a distinct group of anatomically similar humans known as the Denisovans. This mysterious group interacted with early Homo Sapiens for about 10,000 years. Then they mysteriously became extinct.

Despite their short evolutionary span, the Denisovans left behind remarkable objects such as this bracelet. Its age makes it the oldest bracelet ever found, but what is also amazing is that the technology used to make the bracelet was at least 30,000 years ahead of its time. Until now, scientists had believed that such skills had only evolved among humans in the Neolithic period, which began at about 10,000 years ago. Indeed, they initially thought that the bracelet had somehow become mixed up with materials dating from a later period. But further tests ruled out this hypothesis in favor of the work of the Denisovans.

The Denisovan artisan who made this bracelet had used a drill with a fairly high rotational speed for stability. He would also have been skilled in grinding and polishing the object using animal skins with varying degrees of tanning. The result is an object of stunning beauty.  In bright sunlight, the bracelet reflects the sun rays, while at night by the fire, it casts a deep shade of green. It is also very delicate, suggesting that it was only worn occasionally, perhaps during some important rituals.