Conventional human signs 40,000 BP

"Humans 40,000 y Ago Developed a System of Conventional Signs." Bentz, Christian et al. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 123, no. 9 (February 23, 2026): e2520385123. https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2520385123. Painstaking research by Christian Benz, Ewa Dutkewicz, et al. Significance Humans have carved visual signs into the surfaces of mobile artifacts and cave walls since several hundred thousand years. We here analyze a 40,000 y old assemblage of mobile artifacts bearing sequences of intentionally engraved geometric signs. These sign sequences have a complexity comparable to the earliest protocuneiform and were selectively applied to yield higher information density on figurines than on tools. This proves that the first hunter-gatherers arriving in Europe already developed a system of intentional and conventional signs on mobile artifacts. Our study more broadly relates to research into statistical properties of human language and writing compared to other sign…