Ancient figurines carved from animal bones hint at a lost chapter of human history 40,000 years ago.

Archaeologists analyzing more than 3,000 etchings on 260 prehistoric relics have uncovered one of the earliest known symbolic systems, far older than the first Sumerian cuneiform of 3400 to 3300 BC in Mesopotamia.

Many of the artifacts were discovered in caves in the Swabian Jura, including a small mammoth figurine from Vogelherd Cave in Lone Valley, southwestern Germany.

The relics include flutes, animal carvings, and human-animal hybrid figurines, all marked with 22 recurring symbols, ranging from V-shaped notches to lines, crosses and dots. 

'The artifacts date back tens of thousands of years before the first writing systems,' said study co-author Ewa Dutkiewicz, an archaeologist at Berlin's Museum of Prehistory and Early History, according to Popular Science. 

The carvings appeared to be a structured symbolic system rather than random decoration, suggesting early forms of communication or information storage that may have recorded calendars, rituals, tallies or cultural identity.

Professor Christian Bentz of Saarland University added: 'There are plenty of theories, but until now there has been very little empirical work on the basic, measurable characteristics of the signs.' 

The team emphasized that the goal was not to decipher the signs' concrete meanings, which remain unknown.

The study focused on 260 objects, including ivory figurines, bone tools, flutes, and pendants, dating from roughly 43,000 to 34,000 years ago. 

Researchers found that certain objects, particularly figurines, carried higher 'information density,' meaning more symbols were deliberately engraved per surface area. 

Tools, flutes and ornaments also bear symbols, but to a lesser extent, suggesting a hierarchy in how symbols were applied depending on the object's purpose.

Other artifacts from the Swabian Jura showed similar markings. Notable examples include the 'Adorant,' a mammoth ivory plate from Geißenklösterle Cave in the Ach Valley, depicting a hybrid lion-human creature and the Lion Man from Hohlenstein-Stadel Cave in the Lone Valley, a mythical human-lion figure with evenly spaced notches along its arm. 

These and other pieces reveal a deliberate symbolic system repeated across multiple objects. '

The signs on the archaeological objects are frequently repeated—cross, cross, cross, line, line, line. This type of repetition is not a feature found in spoken language,' Bentz told Popular Science.

The findings suggested that humans arriving in Europe during the Upper Paleolithic were already capable of complex symbolic thought. 

The systematic use of signs indicates that these early hunter-gatherers had a way to store and transmit information beyond the spoken word, essentially an early form of external memory. 

'Our findings also show that Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers developed a system of symbols that has an information density statistically comparable to the earliest proto-cuneiform tablets from ancient Mesopotamia, which came 40,000 years later,' Bentz said.

Researchers compared the statistical properties of the carvings with early cuneiform, noting similarities in structure, repetition, and information density. 

'Sign sequences in proto-cuneiform script are also repetitive, and the individual signs are repeated at a similar rate. In terms of complexity, the sign sequences are comparable,' Bentz explained. 

'We hypothesized that early proto-cuneiform would be more similar to modern writing, but the older Palaeolithic sequences were surprisingly alike. 

'Little changed between the Old Stone Age and the first proto-cuneiform scripts. Then, about 5,000 years ago, a new system emerged to represent spoken language, with completely different statistical characteristics.'

While not writing in the strict sense, the carvings showed a level of conventionality and intentionality comparable to the earliest attempts at recording information in human history. 

The exact meaning remains unknown, but researchers suggested some markings may reflect seasonal patterns or animal migration cycles, hybrid figures and recurring patterns may have held religious or cultural significance and regularly spaced notches may have functioned as counting systems or record-keeping tools. 

Certain symbols consistently appearing on humans or feline figures versus tools and other animals indicate early social conventions.

Until now, it was widely believed that the first writing system emerged in Mesopotamia with Sumerian cuneiform around 5,400 years ago. 

The new findings push complex symbolic communication back at least 35,000 years, challenging long-held assumptions about the timeline of cognitive and cultural evolution in modern humans.

The study also highlighted the importance of empirical analysis. By applying statistical models and classification algorithms, researchers were able to quantify the carvings' structure, consistency, and information content, providing a framework for studying prehistoric symbols more broadly. 

While the carvings do not constitute writing as we understand it today, they provide invaluable insight into the cognitive and cultural sophistication of early Homo sapiens.

'There are many sign sequences to be found on artifacts. We've only just scratched the surface,' Dutkiewicz said. 

As researchers continue to analyze and catalog these objects, they hope to uncover patterns that could further illuminate the symbolic lives of prehistoric communities.