The First Signs: Unlocking the Mysteries of the World's Oldest Symbols

Book: The First Signs: Unlocking the Mysteries of the World's Oldest Symbols
Genevieve von Petzinger (Author)
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Atria Books (May 31, 2016)

One of the most significant works on our evolutionary ancestry since Richard Leakey’s paradigm-shattering Origins, The First Signs is the first-ever exploration of the little-known geometric images that accompany most cave art around the world—the first indications of symbolic meaning, intelligence, and language.

Imagine yourself as a caveman or woman. The place: Europe. The time: 25,000 years ago, the last Ice Age. In reality, you live in an open-air tent or a bone hut. But you also belong to a rich culture that creates art. In and around your cave paintings are handprints and dots, x’s and triangles, parallel lines and spirals. Your people know what they mean. You also use them on tools and jewelry. And then you vanish—and with you, their meanings.

Join renowned archaeologist Genevieve von Petzinger on an Indiana Jones-worthy adventure from the open-air rock art sites of northern Portugal to the dark depths of a remote cave in Spain that can only be reached by sliding face-first through the mud...


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Símbolos geométricos descubiertos en múltiples cuevas serían los primeros mensajes escritos

Durante varias décadas, los arqueólogos han estado analizando imágenes de caballos, bisontes y otros objetos dejadas por los artistas de la Edad de Hielo en los muros de las cuevas europeas hace más de 10.000 años. Pero pocos investigadores han prestado atención a los sencillos símbolos geométricos que a menudo acompañaban dichas imágenes más complejas. Al no poder interpretar o descifrar esas marcas, muchos arqueólogos concluyeron que eran simples decoraciones.

Ahora, la paleoantropóloga y estudiante de la Universidad de Victoria en Canadá Genevieve von Petzinger ha realizado un nuevo estudio sobre estos signos, lo que le llevó a descubrir nuevas pistas sobre su verdadero significado y propósito.

En un próximo libro titulado The First Signs (Los primeros signos), Von Petzinger explica que los europeos de la Edad de Hielo usaron sólo 32 símbolos geométricos diferentes a lo largo de un período de 30.000 años, sugiriendo así que estas marcas “pretendían transmitir información”, lo que fue el primer paso en el extenso camino de la humanidad en el desarrollo de la escritura...


Actualización: Mysterious Markings May Hold Clues to Origin of Writing
For decades, archaeologists have pored over the spectacular images of stampeding horses and charging bison left by Ice Age artists on European cave walls more than 10,000 years ago. But few researchers have paid much attention to the simple geometric signs that often accompany the art. Unable to interpret or decipher these markings, many archaeologists dismissed them as mere decorations.

Now, paleoanthropologist Genevieve von Petzinger, a Ph.D. student at the University of Victoria in Canada and a National Geographic Emerging Explorer, has conducted a new study of the signs, gleaning fresh clues to their purpose. In a forthcoming book entitled The First Signs, von Petzinger reports that Ice Age Europeans used just 32 distinct types of geometric symbols over a period of 30,000 years, suggesting that the markings were “meant to transmit information”—an early step on humanity’s long road to developing writing...


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In this excerpt from her book The First Signs, archeologist Genevieve von Petzinger ventures deep into a Spanish hillside in search of mysterious markings left behind thousands of years ago.

Canadian archeologist Genevieve von Petzinger is interested in the geometric signs — abstract symbols such as spirals, asterisks and hands — found with remarkable consistency in caves across Europe. She’s assembled a database of more than 5,000 signs from hundreds of sites — some of which she’s explored herself. The patterns in the ice age markings offer tantalizing clues to the development of abstract human thought and graphic communication...


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From The First Signs: Unlocking the Mysteries of the World’s Oldest Symbols by Genevieve Von Petzinger...


Actualización: The 32 mysterious symbols made by early humans |ideas.ted.com
After examining dozens of Ice Age cave sites across Europe, paleoarchaeologist Genevieve von Petzinger discovered our ancestors repeatedly used 32 signs. Why? She walks us through her eye-opening discoveries — and their implications....