Ancient Aurignacian Marks Hint at a 40,000-Year-Old Pre-Writing System
TL;DR Summary
A statistical study of 260 Aurignacian artifacts (43,000–34,000 years ago) identified over 3,000 marks arranged in deliberate, repeatable sequences with object-type–dependent patterns. The information-density patterns remained stable for about 10,000 years, suggesting a shared symbolic system used to store and organize information—an early precursor to writing, but not a direct representation of spoken language like protocuneiform. Researchers emphasize the exact meanings are unknown, yet the work implies complex symbolic communication by early hunter-gatherers long before true writing emerged.
- These 40,000-Year-Old Marks May Be a Precursor to Writing ScienceAlert
- 40,000-year-old Stone Age symbols may have paved the way for writing, long before Mesopotamia Phys.org
- Earliest known writing dates back over 40,000 years Popular Science
- The first record-keepers? Stone Age carvings ‘resemble writing’ The Times
- Ancient art could hold clues to the origins of written language Scientific American
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