• The Adorant figurine, approximately 38,000 years old, consists of a small, ivory plate bearing an anthropomorphic figure and multiple sequences of notches and dotsLandesmuseum Württemberg / Hendrik Zwietasch, CC BY 4.0 The Adorant figurine, approximately 38,000 years old, consists of a small, ivory plate bearing an anthropomorphic figure and multiple sequences of notches and dots Landesmuseum Württemberg / Hendrik Zwietasch, CC BY 4.0 Stone Age people 40,000 years ago used a simple form of writing comparable in complexity to the earliest stages of the world’s first writing system,cuneiform, according to a study of mysterious signs engraved on figurines and other artefacts found in Germany. • If confirmed, this pushes back the emergence of a proto-writing system by more than 30,000 years. • Ancient humans have long made deliberate marks on objects, but some of the earliest groups ofHomo sapiensto arrive in Europe around 45,000 years ago took this to a new level. • Many of the artefacts they made, such as pendants, tools and figurines, were engraved with sequences of graphic symbols such as lines, crosses and dots. • These groups alsopainted symbols on cave wallsalongside depictions of animals, and the meaning of these symbols has been contentious. • Read moreThe remarkable tale of how humans nearly didn’t conquer the world Read more The remarkable tale of how humans nearly didn’t conquer the world The use of sequences of symbols is particularly striking.

Article Summaries:

  • A new study of 40,000‑year‑old German artifacts suggests that the earliest form of writing may predate known systems by more than 30,000 years. Researchers examined 260 objects-pendants, flutes, animal carvings, and figurines-engraved with 3,000+ sequences of 22 distinct symbols (V‑shaped notches, lines, crosses, dots, etc.) from the Aurignacian period. Using computer models, they compared the statistical complexity of these sequences to proto‑cuneiform tablets from Mesopotamia (c. 3500 BC) and modern writing. The analysis found striking similarities to proto‑cuneiform, implying that early Homo sapiens in Europe had a proto‑writing system long before the first known scripts.
  • Stone Age people 40,000 years ago used a simple form of writing comparable in complexity to the earliest stages of the world’s first writing system, cuneiform, according to a study of mysterious signs engraved on figurines and other artefacts found in Germany. If confirmed, this pushes back the emergence of a proto-writing system by more than 30,000 years. Ancient humans have long made deliberate marks on objects, but some of the earliest groups of Homo sapiens to arrive in Europe around 45,000 years ago took this to a new level. Many of the artefacts they made, such as pendants, tools and fig

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