Stone Age Writing Pushes Back 40,000 Years

- The study was led by linguist Christian Bentz of Saarland University and archaeologist Ewa Dutkiewicz from the Museum of Prehistory and Early History in Berlin. They used computational tools and statistical modeling to analyze the information density of the ancient marks. - The analyzed symbols, including lines, dots, and crosses, were found on 260 artifacts primarily from the Swabian Jura region of southwest Germany, an area where early Homo sapiens encountered Neanderthals. Notable artifacts include a mammoth figurine from Vogelherd Cave and an ivory plaque known as the "Adorant" from Geißenklösterle Cave. - This discovery challenges the previous consensus that the earliest form of writing was Sumerian cuneiform, which emerged in Mesopotamia around 3,400 BCE for record-keeping. The Stone Age symbols predate this by more than 35,000 years. - The analysis did not decipher the symbols' meaning but showed they were arranged in deliberate, structured sequences. The patterns have a statistical complexity similar to early proto-cuneiform, which also used repetitive symbols rather than directly representing spoken language. - This research builds on earlier work by paleoanthropologist Genevieve von Petzinger, who cataloged geometric signs at 52 European rock art sites. Her work identified just 32 recurring symbols used across the continent over a 30,000-year period, suggesting a widespread and long-lasting system of graphic communication. - The age of such ancient artifacts is often determined using methods like radiocarbon dating for organic materials, which can date samples up to 50,000 years old. This technique has been used to date charcoal pigments in cave paintings at sites like Chauvet Cave in France to over 30,000 years old.