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Image Credit: Universität Tübingen / Hildegard Jensen, CC BY-SA 4.0
Paleolithic Humans Developed Proto Writing 40000 Years Ago
A new statistical study suggests that Paleolithic humans created structured sign systems as early as 40,000 years ago — long before the invention of formal writing in Mesopotamia.
Researchers analyzed more than 3,000 carved markings found on 260 artifacts from Central Europe, particularly from cave sites in the Swabian Jura in southern Germany. The objects include tools and figurines decorated with repeated geometric signs such as lines, crosses, dots, grids and zigzags.
Using computational statistical methods, the team identified recurring “sign sequences” whose structural properties resemble early proto-cuneiform systems. While these carvings are not writing in the modern sense, the analysis indicates they were not random decorative marks, but part of a consistent symbolic system capable of encoding information.
Modern humans arrived in Europe around 55,000 years ago, bringing advanced tool technologies and beginning to produce cave art and decorated objects. The newly studied markings suggest that the cognitive foundations for writing may have developed tens of thousands of years before the emergence of cuneiform around 3000 BC.
Unlike later writing systems, the Paleolithic signs often show repeated patterns, such as multiple identical symbols in sequence. Researchers emphasize that the system remained relatively stable for nearly 10,000 years, unlike cuneiform, which evolved rapidly.
Although the statistical analysis does not reveal the specific meanings of the signs, figurines appear to display higher information density than tools, hinting at differentiated symbolic use.
The findings contribute to growing evidence that early humans developed complex systems of symbolic communication long before the invention of formal writing.
Published on: 28-02-2026
Edited by: Abdulmnam Samakie
Source: Live Science