Humans could have been ‘writing’ 40,000 years earlier than anyone thought
by Rory McKeown
Researchers have uncovered compelling evidence that Stone Age humans were engraving complex, meaningful symbol systems onto tools and sculptures 40,000 years ago.
The findings challenge the long-held assumption that writing began in ancient Mesopotamia around 3,000 BCE.
An international research team, led by linguist Christian Bentz of Saarland University and archaeologist Ewa Dutkiewicz of Berlin’s Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte, analysed more than 3,000 engraved signs found on 260 prehistoric objects.