March 6, 2026
40,000-Year-Old Symbols Carved in Bone May Reveal the Origins of Written Language
Long before cities, agriculture, or record keeping, Ice Age humans carved small lines and dots into ivory and bone. At first glance, these marks seem simple. But new research suggests they may represent one of the earliest steps toward written language. For decades, historians placed the birth of writing in ancient Mesopotamia around 5,300 years ago. There, proto-cuneiform symbols helped track goods and trade.
