Overview
- The peer-reviewed PNAS paper led by Christian Bentz analyzed nearly 3,000 incised signs on 260 objects dating to roughly 43,000–34,000 years ago from four caves in Germany’s Swabian Alps.
- Computer-assisted analysis found the sequences share statistical properties with the earliest protocuneiform tablets, indicating comparable information density and structured use.
- Mark placement followed conventions, with crosses present on tools and animal figurines but absent on human effigies, suggesting rules or taboos in symbol application.
- The authors emphasize the marks do not constitute full writing and their meanings remain unknown, yet outside experts concur the sequences transmitted information.
- The artifacts, carved from mammoth ivory, bone and antler, come from a small region, and similar Paleolithic signs are known elsewhere as ongoing excavations continue to add examples.