Stone Age Proto-Writing Discovered
Researchers analyzing mysterious signs engraved on European artifacts suggest they may represent proto-writing dating back 40,000 years, potentially pushing symbolic communication tens of thousands of years before the first true writing systems. The discovery could fundamentally reshape our understanding of early human cognitive development and cultural transmission.
- The analysis was conducted by linguist Christian Bentz of Saarland University and archaeologist Ewa Dutkiewicz of the Museum of Prehistory and Early History in Berlin. They examined over 3,000 individual signs on 260 Stone Age objects discovered in the Swabian Jura region of southwestern Germany. - Researchers used computational analysis and statistical modeling to compare the patterns of lines, dots, and crosses to later writing systems. The study was not aimed at deciphering the meaning of the symbols but rather at understanding their structure and complexity. - The findings suggest that the information density and systematic repetition of these 40,000-year-old markings are comparable to the earliest known writing system, proto-cuneiform, which appeared in Mesopotamia around 3500-3350 BCE. - Among the artifacts analyzed is a 40,000-year-old mammoth ivory figurine from the Vogelherd Cave, which is engraved with rows of crosses and dots. Another significant object is a mammoth ivory plaque from the Geißenklösterle Cave, depicting a human-lion hybrid, which is also decorated with lines of dots and notches. - This discovery challenges the previous consensus that the oldest form of writing is cuneiform, which originated in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) around 3,400 BC. Cuneiform itself evolved from an earlier system of accounting using clay tokens that dates back to the 8th millennium BC. - Paleoanthropologist Genevieve von Petzinger has also researched Ice Age symbols, creating a database of 32 recurring signs found in European caves between 10,000 and 40,000 years ago, suggesting a widespread early system of graphic communication. - In a separate but related area of research, a team including independent researcher Ben Bacon has proposed that markings on cave paintings from around 20,000 years ago constitute a "proto-writing" system. They suggest that symbols like lines, dots, and a 'Y' shape were used as a lunar calendar to track animal mating and birthing seasons.
