Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a ...

A recent study published in the journal Antiquity unveiled a significant link between ancient trade symbols and the development of cuneiform writing in Mesopotamia. Researchers from the University of ...

The discovery of 5,000-year-old linguistic inscriptions predates by 1,400 years the earliest known Chinese writing and matches the age of the oldest known human writing in Mesopotamia. (via ...

Italian researchers suggest that symbols from the oldest writing system in the world may have come directly from cylinder seal motifs. Reading time 3 minutes For centuries, scholars have puzzled over ...

The discovery of fingerprints entombed in ancient clay has provided scientists with an unprecedented opportunity to bridge ...

The origins of writing aren’t set in stone. The ancient cave peoples weren’t as illiterate as portrayed in popular media. Archaeologists have discovered Paleolithic glyphs in a German cave that could ...

(CNN) — 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 ...

It apparently began around 200 A.D., when a Maya scribe decided that the symbols he was using were just not good enough. When he drew a jaguar, for example, who could be sure that he really meant ...