Ancient Markings Across The Caves Of Europe Give Clues On The Origin Of Writing

Genevieve von Petzinger, the Ph.D. student at the University of Victoria in Canada and a National Geographic Emerging Explorer stated that the Ice Age Europeans used 32 types of geometric symbols over a period of 30,000 years. She suggested that the ancient markings were meant to convey information that was an early step in developing writing.

Ms. Von Petzinger examined the cave paintings and engravings for geometric signs. She classified the markings by type and recorded them in a relational base. She then looked for patterns in the data. She also found out that almost three-quarters of the sign types were in used in the Aurignacian period.

The Aurignacian culture is also known as the archaeological culture of the Upper Paleolithic, which is situated in Europe and southwest Asia. It lasted from ca. 45,000 to 35,000 years ago. The Venus of Hohle Fels, which is the oldest undisputed model of human figurative art, comes from this culture. It was found in the cave at Schelklingen in Germany.

Ms. Von Petzinger with her husband Dillon von Petzinger explored 52 rarely visited caves for more inventories and to classify the symbols. They spent two weeks underground. She discovered 32 types of signs that are used across the continent during the Upper Paleolithic period. She realized then that the ancient ancestors had to have a system in place. The early range of geometric signs she had identified in France was repeated across Europe. This indicated that modern humans had developed these signs before they arrived in Europe. It would be mostly likely in the African homeland, according to National Geographic.

The ancient markings that were discovered before prompted speculations that those signs developed the early writing system. On the other hand, Von Petzinger has found little evidence to support the idea. She said that Europe's cave artists did not have a sufficient number of geometric signs to represent all the words that would have occurred in their language. She further said that they don't seem to have all the complexities to write a paragraph or a sonnet.

On the other hand, some markings like meandering lines that Von Petzinger discovered in Portugal's Coa Valley region, may look like a map-like representation of a river or other landscapes. There are also signs such as the lines inscribed on the deer-tooth necklace. This implies as memory aids for ceremonialists managing important rituals. She said that these markings seem to be a way of keeping information externally-a form of graphic communication that finally led to writing.

Ms.Von Petzinger concluded that she personally believes that without these first tentative steps (the distant ancestors) took into the world of graphic communication, the intellectual building blocks would not have been there for their descendants to develop the writing systems that are taken for granted today.