Writing was invented near 40,000 years ago in Europe. And these symbols have been in use across Europe for tens of thousands of years. Genevieve von Petzinger discovered this ice age writing system of...
Interesting.
Both Hieroglyphs and Cuneiform were around about 3-4 thousand years BC. If true, this is a major find. Mankind has clearly been making marks for a long time, but a written form of language is specific to there being a consensus of meaning attached to symbols and a culture of passing on the learning and interpretation of these meanings.
I also find it interesting when we know of cultures who have almost no writing, for example some native north, south and central American tribes. Is this evidence of a predominately oral culture or something else? One commonality of all cultures is artistic development. I cannot think of a civilisation that didn't produce art in some form or other.
What the writing is used for tells us a great deal about a civilisation, because the medium is the message.
The key moments for mankind were speaking, writing (including reading), publishing/printing (and now its extension of the internet). I wonder if there is another milestone awaiting us.
Both Hieroglyphs and Cuneiform were around about 3-4 thousand years BC. If true, this is a major find. Mankind has clearly been making marks for a long time, but a written form of language is specific to there being a consensus of meaning attached to symbols and a culture of passing on the learning and interpretation of these meanings.
I also find it interesting when we know of cultures who have almost no writing, for example some native north, south and central American tribes. Is this evidence of a predominately oral culture or something else? One commonality of all cultures is artistic development. I cannot think of a civilisation that didn't produce art in some form or other.
What the writing is used for tells us a great deal about a civilisation, because the medium is the message.
The key moments for mankind were speaking, writing (including reading), publishing/printing (and now its extension of the internet). I wonder if there is another milestone awaiting us.