40,000-Year-Old German Glyphs Hint at Prehistoric Writing

Archaeologists studying 40,000-year-old engravings and artifacts from a Swabian Jura cave in Germany report 22 recurring symbols that may constitute the oldest form of writing, with patterns reminiscent of proto-cuneiform. The team suggests these glyphs could reflect complex symbolic thought—potentially including calendrical tracking—indicating that Stone Age hunter-gatherers may have conveyed information in a structured way well before known writing systems, potentially pushing back the origins of writing by about 30,000 years, though the exact meanings remain uncertain.