Archaeologists were working the site on the north Kimberley coast of Western Australia when they came across the unique gem below the surface, said Kat Szabo, an associate professor at the University of Wollongong.
“Natural pearls are very rare in nature and we certainly — despite many, many (oyster) shell middens being found in Australia — we’ve never found a natural pearl before,” Szabo, who specializes in studying shells at archaeological sites, said.
A midden is a prehistoric refuse pit.
“The location makes it particularly significant because the Kimberley coast of Australia is synonymous with pearling, and has been for the better part of the last century.”
The pink-and-gold-colored pearl is almost spherical, with a five-millimeter diameter. Due to its near-perfect round shape, the researchers used a micro CT scan to test its age and prove that it was naturally occurring rather than a farmed modern cultured pearl.
The oysters that produce pearls have been used in rainmaking ceremonies in indigenous cultures, and their shells have been found in the central desert more than 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) away.
Archaeologists have known about the rainmaking rituals but were not aware of how far back in history they had been practiced.
“Studying the pearl has led us to the study of the layer in which it’s found,” Szabo said.
Read more at Discovery News
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