What is "manuport"

n. (context archaeology English) A natural (non man-made) object of an excavation site, which was originally brought into the site by humans.

In archaeology and anthropology, a manuport is a natural object which has been moved from its original context by human agency but otherwise remains unmodified. The word derives from the Latin words manus, meaning "hand" and portare, meaning "to carry".

Examples include stones or shells moved from coastal or riverine areas or pebbles found in alien geological contexts. Some have been attributed to pre-human hominines applying significance to pleasingly shaped natural objects such as the Makapansgat pebble, as well as to later societies.

The appearance of the first manuport, the Makapansgat pebble with distinctive "staring eyes" markings and facial features deposited by hominid in a dolerite cave in Makapansgat, South Africa, may date as early as 3,000,000 BC.

Manuports have also been used to support the theory of the Bering Land Bridge.