The meaningful proto-language dots on a cave painting from the Ice Age.
(Photo:Bacon et al.)
Early humans, and our now extinct cousins, Neanderthals, have along artistic history.
The meaningful proto-language dots on a cave painting from the Ice Age. (Photo:Bacon et al.)
Many of theoldest cave paintingsare in Spain and France.
However, certain repeated dots and lines found in animal cave paintings have mystified scholars for decades.
For years, the mystery of the random lines and dots in cave paintings has remained unsolved.
Animal cave drawings with sequences of dots. (Photo:Bacon et al.)
Archeologists have long recognized the paintings' importance to information sharing among early humans.
The way these people knew their environment was absolutely incredible by our standards.
He collected data from images of cave paintings on the internet and in the British Library.
Ben Bacon, the London furniture conservator who cracked the Paleolithic code. (Photo:Durham University/PA)
He says that he had amassed as much data as possible and began looking for repeating patterns.
As he continued researching, Bacon came to the conclusion that the markings alluded to a lunar calendar.
He brought his hypothesis to academics at Durham University and University College London.
Examples of sign sequences with animal drawings. (Photo:Bacon et al.)
Thankfully, they took his amateur conclusions seriously.
They compared the markings to the birth cycles of similar modern animals, such as cows.
This comparison showed that the Paleolithic markings likely refer to each creature’s mating season, marked inlunar months.
It is an incredible example of aproto-writing systemfor a very cognizable purpose.
These people, separated from us by many millennia, are suddenly a lot closer.
Ben Bacon, a London furniture restorer, cracked a Paleolithic code in cave paintings of animals.
Animal cave drawings with sequences of dots.
(Photo:Bacon et al.)
Ben Bacon, the London furniture conservator who cracked the Paleolithic code.
Examples of sign sequences with animal drawings.
(Photo:Bacon et al.)
