Abstract
The Middle Stone Age site of Porc‐Epic in southeastern Ethiopia has produced hundreds of opercula of the terrestrial gastropod Revoilia guillainopsis. Each of these opercula has a central perforation, and the unbroken specimens resemble disc beads. Microscopic examination could not unequivocally confirm their manufacture or use as beads. Their archaeological context indicates that their presence at the site was not the result of natural processes. Direct accelerator mass spectrometry dating of three opercula from different stratigraphic levels has produced ages ranging from about 33,000 to more than 43,000 years old. The opercula do not represent human food refuse but appear to have been collected by the Middle Stone Age occupants of the site for symbolic reasons.
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