A new computational analysis of Paleolithic artifacts reveals that humans over 40,000 years ago engraved structured symbols on tools and figurines, indicating early forms of information recording. These signs, found mainly in southwestern Germany, show complexity comparable to the earliest known writing systems that emerged millennia later. Researchers suggest these markings were purposeful, predating formal writing by tens of thousands of years.
More than 40,000 years ago, during the Ice Age, early humans in Europe carved patterns of dots, lines, notches, and crosses into stone tools, ivory figurines, and other objects. A study led by linguist Christian Bentz from Saarland University and archaeologist Ewa Dutkiewicz from Berlin's Museum of Prehistory and Early History examined over 3,000 such signs on 260 artifacts dating from 34,000 to 45,000 years ago. Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the research used statistical modeling and machine learning to assess the symbols' structure, finding they formed non-random sequences with information density similar to proto-cuneiform, an early writing system from around 3,000 B.C.E. in Mesopotamia.
Many artifacts originate from caves in the Swabian Jura region of southwestern Germany. For instance, a mammoth ivory figurine from Vogelherd Cave features rows of crosses and dots, while the 'Adorant' plaque from Geißenklösterle Cave displays dots and notches alongside a lion-human figure. The Lion Human sculpture from Hohlenstein-Stadel Cave includes spaced notches on one arm. Bentz noted, "Our research is helping us uncover the unique statistical properties -- or statistical fingerprint -- of these sign systems, which are an early predecessor to writing."
The signs are highly repetitive—such as repeated crosses or lines—unlike modern writing that mirrors spoken language. Yet their overall entropy, a measure of information capacity, matches proto-cuneiform's repetitive patterns. Dutkiewicz observed, "Figurines exhibit higher informational density than do tools." The researchers emphasize that these markings likely served to communicate or store information, aiding coordination among groups during a time when Homo sapiens had recently arrived in Europe and interacted with Neanderthals.
This work is part of the EVINE project, funded by the European Research Council, which traces the evolution of visual encoding from ancient symbols to contemporary systems. Bentz added, "The human ability to encode information in signs and symbols was developed over many thousands of years. Writing is only one specific form in a long series of sign systems." The study does not decode the symbols' meanings but highlights their portability, as many objects fit in the palm, suggesting they were carried for practical use.
