Written language, the hallmark of human civilization, didn't just suddenly appear one day. Thousands of years before the first fully developed writing systems, our ancestors scrawled geometric signs across the walls of the caves they sheltered in.
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Video Assignment 2
Watch the video, Genevieve von Petzinger's Why are these 32 symbols found in ancient caves all over Europe?, and answer the following questions:
- What type of imagery were von Petzinger and her husband focusing on in their research?
- Why might this type of imagery have been overlooked or disregarded in earlier discoveries?
- How might the closer inspection of these images and more detailed classification systems be beneficial?
Be sure and include any references cited. Your answers should be in paragraph format and a minimum of 250 words. (Assignment time expectation: 1-2 hours)
Written language, the hallmark of human civilization, didn't just suddenly appear one day. Thousands of years before the first fully developed writing systems, our ancestors scrawled geometric signs across the walls of the caves they sheltered in. Paleoanthropologist and rock art researcher Genevieve von Petzinger has studied and codified these ancient markings in caves across Europe. The uniformity of her findings suggest that graphic communication, and the ability to preserve and transmit messages beyond a single moment in time, may be much older than we think.
