Zigzags found carved into a shell dates back to about 540,000 years ago making a discovery of the earliest art from human beings.

Researchers found the shell at a site in what is now Java, Indonesia that dates back to the era of the "Java Man" also known as Homo erectus literally meaning "upright man," suggesting that the early humans were more sophisticated than previous studies show.

Before this study, only Homo sapiens were thought to be the earliest humans capable of cognition and behavior.

"We as humans tend to be a bit species-centric - we think we are so great and they must have been a bit more stupid than us, but I'm not sure," lead author of the study, Josephine Joordens told Live Science.

"We need to appreciate the capacities of our ancestors a bit more."

The postdoctoral researcher Joordens and her colleagues at Leiden University discovered the ancient artwork in 166 fossils of freshwater mollusk shells.

Since the shells were first discovered in the 1890's, they were stored in the Dubois collection of the Naturalis museum in The Netherlands.

No other art, including cave and rock paintings date back as far as the lines carved into the shell.

"It was probably through the opening of shells with a shark tooth for food that at least one individual made a 'next step' by putting the tool to the shell for scratching lines, instead of, or in addition to, drilling a hole for opening the shell," Joordens told Discovery News.

"With already a shell in one hand and a sharp tool in the other hand, it is not such a big step to take, but in our eyes now it was a giant leap for mankind, so to speak!" she added.

In the 19th century, Dutch Doctor Eugene Dubois discovered "Java Man" which is now known as Homo erectus that was a transitional species between ape and man.