Long before the Sumerians pressed reeds into clay, humans may have already taken their first steps toward writing. Forty thousand years ago, in the depths of Ice Age caves, people began leaving behind ...

Researchers believe these symbols were composed when humans ventured underground to make cave paintings of animals. These ...

The world's oldest known system of writing was influenced by symbols used for trade — engravings found on cylinders used in the exchange of farming produce and textiles, a new study suggests. The ...

ATLANTA — Researchers have uncovered links between what came before the world's oldest writing system and the undeciphered designs left behind on engraved seals that were rolled across clay tablets ...

The elegant pictorial writing system of the ancient Egyptians—known as hieroglyphics—has fascinated generations of archeologists. Its precise origins are uncertain. One ancient Egyptian legend holds ...

Researchers have uncovered links between the precursor to the world’s oldest writing system and the mysterious, intricate designs left behind by engraved cylindrical seals that were rolled across clay ...

Stone Age people living in Europe 20,000 years ago may have devised a simple form of writing to record the habits of the animals they hunted, according to a study of mysterious symbols on artefacts ...