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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Science
Vishwam Sankaran

These mysterious Stone Age symbols from 40,000 years ago could be writing’s earliest predecessors

Strange symbols carved onto a Stone Age mammoth ivory plate found at a cave in southwest Germany could be the earliest known predecessor to writing by humans, according to a new study.

More than 40,000 years ago, humans were carving symbols onto tools and sculptures, and some of these bear mysterious sign sequences, often repeated lines, notches, dots and crosses.

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