The birth of writing could be 40,000 years earlier than previously thought after scientists found etchings in a German cave.

More than 40,000 years ago, Ice Age humans were carving repeated patterns of dots, lines, and crosses into tools and small ivory figurines. A new computational study of more than 3,000 of these ...

Over 40,000 years ago, our early ancestors were already carving signs into tools and sculptures. According to a new analysis ...

Researchers have uncovered compelling evidence that Stone Age humans were engraving complex, meaningful symbol systems onto ...

The history of writing down thoughts and feelings could be tens of thousands of years older than previously believed, surprising archaeologists who made the discovery. The researchers discerned ...

A new study has revealed that mysterious signs carved onto Paleolithic artifacts up to 40,000 years ago match the information density of the world's earliest known writing system — pushing the deep ...

Researchers discovered ancient stone tools in the Ib river valley. These findings suggest human presence in the region between 40,000 and 60,000 years ago. The tools are believed to belong to the ...

New research shows early humans created structured ancient symbol systems 40,000 years ago, long before formal writing ...

The symbols, discovered on 40,000-year-old artifacts in caves in southwest Germany, may have been a precursor to the first written language ...

Over 40,000 years ago, our early ancestors were already carving signs into tools and sculptures. According to a new analysis by linguist Christian Bentz at Saarland University and archaeologist Ewa ...

Ancient carvings once thought decorative may actually be early attempts to record information. Their statistical complexity matches that of proto-cuneiform, pushing the origins of writing-like systems ...