Homo erectus made world's oldest doodle 500,000 years ago

@article{Callaway2014HomoEM,
  title={Homo erectus made world's oldest doodle 500,000 years ago},
  author={Ewen Callaway},
  journal={Nature},
  year={2014}
}
Shell markings are the oldest abstract signs ever discovered. 
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A fossil freshwater shell assemblage from the Hauptknochenschicht of Trinil (Java, Indonesia) is reported, indicating that the engraving was made by Homo erectus, and that it is considerably older than the oldest geometric engravings described so far.
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A rock engraving made by Neanderthals in Gibraltar
TLDR
Geochemical analysis of the epigenetic coating over the engravings and experimental replication show that the engraving was made before accumulation of the archaeological layers, and that most of the lines composing the design were made by repeatedly and carefully passing a pointed lithic tool into the grooves, excluding the possibility of an unintentional or utilitarian origin.
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TLDR
Dating of calcite crusts overlying art in Spanish caves shows that painting began more than 40,000 years ago, revealing either that cave art was a part of the cultural repertoire of the first anatomically modern humans in Europe or that perhaps Neandertals also engaged in painting caves.