Ancient "Cave Painting Code" from 40,000 Years Ago Might Have Inspired Human Written Language
Strolling back in time, our ancestors penned cryptic messages on stones through a combination of bizarre symbols, scattered globally in various caves. Some of these cave artworks depict animals, galaxies, stars, and humanoid beings. Yet, what sets these ancient sites apart is the plethora of mysterious symbols etched beside these depictions.
Tracing back to the roots of the first formal writing system, archaeologists point to the script invented approximately 5,000 years ago in present-day Iraq. In the ancient city of Uruk, archaeological digs unveiled clay tablets bearing scriptures considered Earth's first-ever known writing system. Egypt, too, boasts the stunning and sophisticated ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs.
Yet, the question remains - how did these complex writing systems emerge? Did they spontaneously materialize one day, or was there a common origin? There must have been a precursor that eventually sparked the creation of writing.
What if the scattered "doodles" next to bulls, humanoids, spears, horses, and other artworks were a type of code? A written message intentionally left behind tens of thousands of years ago?
Genevieve von Petzinger, a palaeoanthropologist from the University of Victoria in Canada, pondered this query. She posited that perhaps a period occurred when our ancestors first inked simplicity: circles, triangles, and squiggles on cave walls more than 40,000 years ago. Each one intentional, each one proposed as a message meant to convey meaning.
The human ability to sketch abstract signs and attach significance is the cornerstone of our advanced culture today, a skill not shared by any other creature on Earth. If this is truly so, then perhaps the countless triangles, dots, lines, and circles found within caves across the world follow a predictable pattern. If such a pattern exists, then we might be staring at a coded message from our ancestors, tens of thousands of years old.
To prove this theory, von Petzinger delved into cave exploration, visiting more than 50 European caves, including those found in France, Italy, Portugal, and Spain. All these caves displayed symbols like dots, squares, triangles, lines, and zigzags. More intricate symbols included shapes like hand stencils and penniforms. It appeared that for tens of thousands of years, early humans repeatedly etched the same symbols, suggesting their etchings and doodles were of great significance to them.
It is evident that these symbols were intentionally drawn instead of randomly. Consistency existed between them, a trend repeating itself over vast distances. Von Petzinger observed these trends. Certain symbols held sway for thousands of years before fading away abruptly, like the popularity of hand stencils, which started around 40,000 years ago, then vanished around 20,000 years later.
These changes in cave art might denote cultural shifts. Von Petzinger revealed that 28,000 years ago, the penniform symbols appeared in northern France. As cultures migrated, the symbol spread towards other more distant regions, possibly due to long-distance trade among ancient people.
In her book The First Signs: Unlocking the mysteries of the world's oldest symbols, von Petzinger postulated that modern humans initially utilized two-thirds of these signs when they first arrived in Europe. This suggests that, as humans journeyed from Africa, they carried a mental dictionary of symbols.
So, could these symbols be more than just simple doodles or random markings? Analysis of cave art across Europe revealed that our ancestors used at least 32 different symbols worldwide. This supports the theory that these symbols may have formed an early code created by our ancestors tens of thousands of years ago.
However, the presence of symbols cannot be traced back to people living on Earth 40,000 years ago. Traces of symbols stretch back even earlier in human history, like the discovery of a zigzag etching on a shell on Java around 500,000 years ago. This indicates that our distant ancestors saw the necessity to etch symbols and various shapes onto walls and everyday objects hundreds of thousands of years ago.
Yet, how do we know these symbols are a form of early code? During the Ice Age, around 40,000 years ago, research found several ancient symbols start appearing one alongside the other: hand stencils were drawn alongside dots. This sharing of symbols across various locations hints at the intention behind these marks - perhaps a message meant to be passed from one generation to another.
Whether these ancient symbols are a secret message or something else remains unclear. Without a time machine, we may never know what our ancestors were trying to convey using these symbols. Nonetheless, it is enticing to contemplate the unveiling of humanity's most ancient written language, hidden in plain sight across the world's caves.
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Artifacts found in pyramids and ancient caves worldwide suggest our ancestors had advanced knowledge of science, technology, education, and self-development. The mysterious symbols etched beside animal, astronomical, and humanoid depictions could be an early form of writing related to space-and-astronomy, medical-conditions, or history. Genevieve von Petzinger, a palaeoanthropologist, posits that our ancestors inked simplicity like circles, triangles, and squiggles 40,000 years ago, creating an early code that might connect various cultures. This theory, if proven, would establish these symbols as the world's oldest written language, hinting at the significant impact of art and education on human civilization.
